Trump administration moves to toss out Biden's fuel economy rules

Donald Trump's newly confirmed Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has a lot of work to do, but he's already getting started.

According to DailyCaller.com, Duffy is quickly "moving to overturn the Biden-Harris administration’s stringent fuel economy standards for vehicles."

A Department of Transportation press release indicates that shortly after Duffy was sworn in on January 28, he "signed a memorandum to begin the process of resetting the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)’s Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards. As a result of regulatory costs, the CAFE standards have 'diminished the strength of America’s auto industry' and 'denied Americans the full range of affordable vehicles they need.'"

CAFE standards were first introduced by Congress in 1975 to regulate the fuel economy requirements of vehicles.

Joe Biden's administration took this a step further though, with his National Highway Traffic Safety Administration strengthening the standards in June 2024, "requiring manufacturers to increase fuel economy by 2% each year for new passenger vehicles from 2027 to 2031 and for new light trucks from 2029 to 2031."

The updates to CAFE standards were criticized for potentially costing carmakers billions in compliance costs, fees which would then be passed onto the end consumers.

Sean Duffy is not okay with American consumers paying higher prices because of Joe Biden's decisions.

"I am deeply honored by the trust placed in me by President Trump to lead this important Department and for the Senate in swiftly confirming my nomination," Duffy said.

"We are already hard at work executing the President’s vision to usher in a golden age of transportation by taking immediate action to remove government overreach and lower costs for hardworking Americans. The memorandum signed today specifically reduces the burdensome and overly restrictive fuel standards that have needlessly driven up the cost of a car in order to push a radical Green New Deal agenda. The American people should not be forced to sacrifice choice and affordability when purchasing a new car."

Despite being tight with Elon Musk, President Donald Trump has been an outspoken critic of Biden's electric vehicle policies. On the campaign trail, Trump promised to repeal Biden's de facto EV mandate, calling the measures "insane."

Only a few hours after taking office on January 20, Trump signed an executive order aiming to unleash "America’s affordable and reliable energy and natural resources," which Trump said would "restore American prosperity."

Do you agree with Trump and Duffy's decision to repeal the work of Biden's administration?

Or do you think the Biden administration was onto something with its EV laws?