The president has long been a critic of paper straws, which he says don't work and dissolve too easily.

Then-President Joe Biden had vowed in July of 2024 to ‘phase out’ plastics in federal food service, with the end of procurement due in 2027.

President Trump signed an executive order directing the federal government to return to using plastic straws. “We’re going back to plastic straws,” he said, adding that paper straws “don’t work.”

President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order aimed at encouraging the U.S. government and consumers to purchase plastic drinking straws. "We're going back to plastic straws," Trump told reporters at the White House as he signed the order.

We’re going back to plastic straws,” Trump said when signing the order, claiming that paper straws simply “don’t work.”