Trump Signs Executive Order to Bring Back Plastic Straws: Paper Straws ‘Don’t Work’

President Donald Trump signed an executive order that ends the Biden administration’s push for paper straw usage and directs the federal government to return to using plastic straws.

In a video posted on X by Margo Martin, the Special Assistant and Communications Adviser to the president, Trump explained that biodegradable paper straws “don’t work” and added that they tend to break and do not last very long.

“Next, this is an Executive Order relating to the usage of paper straws,” Will Scharf, the White House staff secretary said. “As you’ve consistently identified, nobody really likes paper straws.”

Scharf continued: “The environmental impact of plastic straws versus paper straws is entirely unclear. This has cost both the government and private industry an absolute ton of money, and left consumers all over the country wildly dissatisfied with their straws.”

“We’re going back to plastic straws,” Trump said. “These things don’t work. I’ve had them many times — on occasion, they break, they explode. If something’s hot they don’t last very long — like a matter of minutes, sometimes a matter of seconds. It’s a ridiculous situation, so we’re going back to plastic straws.”

The executive order returning the United States to plastic straw usage comes after the Biden administration set a goal to eventually phase out the usage of “single-use plastics,” according to the Hill:

Plastics are produced using oil and gas, and promoting the use of the material could be a win for Trump’s allies in the energy industry as well as the plastics industry.

Prior to the signing of the executive order, Trump revealed in a post on Truth Social that he would be “ending the ridiculous Biden push for Paper Straws.”

“I will be signing an Executive Order next week ending the ridiculous Biden push for Paper Straws, which don’t work,” Trump wrote. “BACK TO PLASTIC!”