Episode Overview

Podcast: What A Day
Episode: ICE Warns It’s ‘Only Getting Started’
Host: Jane Coaston
Air Date: February 11, 2026

This episode of What A Day, hosted by Jane Coaston, dives into a rapidly changing political landscape under President Trump’s administration. The show focuses on two main themes:

1. The Trump administration’s efforts to repeal foundational climate change policy and the wider rollback of environmental protections, featuring expert insight from climate policy scholar Leah Stokes.
2. An alarming increase in aggressive immigration enforcement by ICE, highlighted by a contentious congressional hearing and a chilling warning from the agency’s acting director.

The episode also briefly covers other headlines, including Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick’s testimony about ties to Jeffrey Epstein and the removal of the rainbow flag from the Stonewall National Monument.

Main Segment: Climate Policy Rollbacks & the EPA Endangerment Finding

[00:00–10:06]

The Trump Administration and the Environment

• Jane Coaston introduces the show with commentary on the Trump administration’s increasingly hostile stance toward environmental protections, specifically targeting wind energy.
• A clip of Trump at the National Prayer Breakfast lampoons windmills:

  "It's a quick way to losing money, losing beauty, losing your fields, killing your birds. And other than that, it doesn't work." — Donald Trump [01:19]

Repealing the Endangerment Finding

• The episode centers on the EPA’s plan to repeal the 2009 “endangerment finding,” the legal backbone of greenhouse gas emission limits.
• Jane interviews Leah Stokes, Associate Professor at UC Santa Barbara and climate podcast host.

Key Insights from Leah Stokes

• Definition and Purpose

  "[The endangerment finding] basically says, yes, greenhouse gases are an air pollutant that endangers Americans' lives. And they've used that as the basis of doing a bunch of different regulations over time." — Leah Stokes [02:38]

• Consequences of Repeal

  • Repealing it attacks the scientific basis for US climate action and strips the EPA’s authority to regulate greenhouse gases.
  • Stokes:

    "It's basically taking on the science... This is just another way of saying climate change isn't real, it doesn't endanger Americans." [04:09]

• Trump’s Broader Climate Agenda

  • Stokes notes a pattern: rolling back incentives for renewables, blocking clean energy projects, and siding with fossil fuel interests at the public’s expense.

  "This is just yet another move in the direction of big polluters because they profit on every year that we delay action... It's a very corrupt administration. That's a sort of pay to play. And the fossil fuel industry is sort of the number one player..." [05:00]

• Business Reaction

  • Not all corporations are rushing to exploit lowered standards—consumer and investor pressure, and poor fossil fuel economics, are real brakes on dirty energy expansion.

  "The fossil fuel industry's days are numbered... they're really just trying to hang on for dear life here." [06:48]

• Remaining Policies and Hope

  • Some state-level incentives and corporate rebates for solar and batteries endure, and public interest in clean tech is robust.

  "There are still solar and battery incentives. They're more on the corporate side than for everyday Americans." [07:51]

• The Path Forward

  • Local action and technological progress (cheaper solar panels in Pakistan, EVs in Nepal, and green manufacturing in Canada) remain bright spots, despite US federal rollbacks.

  "The future is here now, and we're seeing so many countries around the world continue to make progress." [09:04]

Memorable Moment

• Leah Stokes reflects on the contradiction of pro-Trump, pro-environment factions:

  "I've got a neighbor who's really into the birds and is a big Trumper, and I'm like, you know, he's not good for the birds." — Leah Stokes [09:04]

Headlines and Key News Stories

[14:03–18:11]

ICE’s Aggressive Immigration Enforcement

• At a congressional oversight hearing, Rep. Timothy Kennedy grills Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons about agent accountability. Lyons refuses to require agents to be identifiable:

  Kennedy: "Will you commit yes or no to immediately unmasking every agent... and requiring them to wear standard uniforms with identifiable badges?"
  Lyons: "No." [14:09–14:33]

• Lyons doubles down, warning critics:

  "Let me send a message to anyone who thinks they can intimidate us. You will fail... we are only getting started." [approx. 14:33]

• The context: recent fatal shootings of two civilians by ICE agents and a looming budget standoff over DHS funding.

Other Major Stories

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Jeffrey Epstein

• Lutnick testifies to lunching on Epstein’s island with his family, downplaying post-2008 contact with the convicted sex offender.

  "We had lunch on the island, that is true, for an hour. And we left with all of my children, with my nannies and my wife all together." — Howard Lutnick [16:27]

• White House stands by Lutnick despite mounting scrutiny:

  "Secretary Lutnick remains a very important member of President Trump's team, and the president fully supports the secretary." — White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt [17:52]

Removal of the Rainbow Flag at Stonewall

• The National Park Service quietly took down the rainbow flag at the Stonewall National Monument, citing policy to fly only US, Department of Interior, and POW/MIA flags. Activists see it as a “symbolic swipe” at LGBTQ+ history. [15:35]

FBI Seizes 2020 Ballots

• FBI searches Fulton County, Georgia election offices and seizes boxes of ballots, probing unfounded fraud claims originated by Trump’s former campaign lawyer Kurt Olson. [18:11]

Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• "He really covered a lot of ground at the National Prayer Breakfast. Do we even need the State of the Union?" — Jane Coaston [01:28]
• "The fossil fuel industry's days are numbered... they're really just trying to hang on for dear life here." — Leah Stokes [06:48]
• "Let me send a message to anyone who thinks they can't intimidate us. You will fail... we are only getting started." — Todd Lyons, Acting ICE Director [14:33]
• "Secretary Lutnick remains a very important member of President Trump's team, and the president fully supports the secretary." — Caroline Levitt, White House Press Secretary [17:52]

Timestamps for Major Segments

• Introduction & Theme: 00:00–01:19
• Windmills, Climate Policies Overview: 01:19–02:23
• Interview with Leah Stokes: 02:23–10:06
• News Headlines – ICE Hearing: 14:03–14:33
• Epstein-Lutnick Testimony & Political Fallout: 16:27–18:11
• Stonewall National Monument Flag Removal: 15:35–16:27
• Fulton County Election Investigation: 18:11–end of headlines

Tone and Takeaways

• The episode is sharply analytical, often sarcastic—especially in host Jane Coaston's commentary.
• The climate segment is both sobering and hopeful, blending critique of government rollback with optimism about local and global progress.
• The coverage of immigration and ICE is direct and critical, highlighting official stonewalling and an emboldened enforcement posture.

Conclusion

This episode underscores the significance of administrative power in shaping climate action and civil rights, pairing deep dives (the EPA’s endangerment finding) with rapid-fire news on government overreach and social policy flashpoints. For listeners seeking substance, skepticism, and a dash of humor, this installment of What A Day delivers a brisk, incisive recap of what matters most right now.