President Donald Trump will decide whether to keep the United States in the Paris climate agreement after a meeting of leading industrial nations later this month.
White House press secretary Sean Spicer told reporters about the new timeline Tuesday.
“The president has been meeting with his team for quite a while on this matter, and he will not be making an announcement regarding that agreement until after he returns from the G-7,” Spicer said, referring to the Group of Seven meeting scheduled for May 26-27 in Italy.
He continued, “The reason that he’s seeking the advice of his team is to get options and then he’ll pursue the best one. But I’m not going to tell you which one that he’s going to do.”
Spicer’s announcement came the same day that a team of White House officials delayed discussions on whether to withdraw from the Paris agreement or stay in the global accord. President Trump promised to withdraw from the Paris agreement during his presidential campaign.
Senior White House adviser Steve Bannon and Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt argued against staying in the Paris agreement. White House advisers Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner, and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson argue that the United States should remain in the Paris accord.
The other world leaders will lobby Trump to stay in the Paris climate agreement at the G-7 meeting. The leaders of all the other G-7 members–Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the European Union all support the agreement.
Sean Spicer said, “The president wants to continue to meet with his team … meet with not just the economic piece, but his environmental team, and come to a decision on what’s the best interests of the United States, using the expertise that surrounds him.”