By Maxine Joselow, Washington Post
The son of a labor icon, Richard Trumka Jr. warned that gas ranges could harm children’s health. He’s since been swept up in the backlash against regulating gas appliances.
Until he became an unwitting flash point in the nation’s culture wars, Richard Trumka Jr. was little known to most Americans, despite being the son of a famous labor leader.
But less than three weeks ago, this member of the Consumer Product Safety Commission was thrust into the public limelight. In an interview with Bloomberg News, Trumka said his commission was considering regulations — or even a ban — on new gas stoves over concerns about their harmful indoor air pollution.
Ban gas stoves? Totalitarian, declared Fox News host Tucker Carlson. “If the maniacs in the White House come for my stove, they can pry it from my cold dead hands,” tweeted Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Tex.).
Trumka never imagined his offhand comments would ignite such a viral furor, which partly explains why he is now clearly uncomfortable talking about himself. At the beginning of an hour-long interview with The Washington Post, he fidgeted with his hands and looked at the floor. He was reluctant, he said, to become part of the story.
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