Attorney General Hilgers Leads Coalition to Protect Gas-Powered Vehicles

LINCOLN--Attorney General Mike Hilgers led a coalition of states and corn-grower associations, to support the Trump Administration’s termination of the electric vehicle mandate. 

The Trump Administration issued a new interpretive rule that repudiates the Biden-Harris Administration’s unlawful abuse of fuel economy standards to effectively mandate electric vehicle production. The Biden-Harris Administration’s illegal bolstering of electric vehicles harms vehicle consumers, liquid-fuel producers, and the electric grid. It also damages our roads and decreases fuel-tax revenues. Yet environmental groups and other states sued to restore that unlawful rule. Nebraska stepped in to defend the Trump Administration’s rule that would protect Nebraskans.

A primary use of domestically grown corn is ethanol, a renewable fuel that is the second largest component, by volume, in gasoline. When demand for ethanol decreases, so does the price of corn. Nebraska led the coalition to protect Nebraska farmers, prevent further inflation, and support the free market.

“The Biden-Harris Administration unlawfully used fuel-economy standards to mandate vehicles that used no fuel. That illegal action would limit consumer choice, raise prices, cause damage to our roads, and strain the electric grid. Even so, environmental activist groups and states ranging from California to Massachusetts sued to stop the Trump Administration’s decision to respect the laws passed by Congress. That is why Nebraska is leading a group of states and organizations to defend the Trump Administration’s commonsense decision to follow the law,” stated Attorney General Mike Hilgers. 

Nebraska led the motion to intervene, joined by Iowa, Kentucky, and West Virginia. The American Free Enterprise Chamber of Commerce, and several corn-grower groups, including the Nebraska Corn Growers Associations, also joined.  The motion was filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.