Staff Reports
In a bold move, a group of 21 states’ attorneys general are standing up to President Biden and his administration’s EPA overreach. The new highway emissions rules set by the Federal Highway Administration and the U.S. Department of Transportation are under fire for attempting to strong-arm state transportation departments into bowing to their carbon dioxide reduction demands.
States sue Biden administration over highway emissions rule | Just The News https://t.co/rMHqzsNO8G
— John Solomon (@jsolomonReports) December 22, 2023
The states’ legal challenge, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky, argues that the federal agencies have zero authority to force states to slash emissions. According to the complaint, Congress never granted the FHWA or DOT the power to regulate greenhouse gas emissions or impose federal regulations on the states without clear authority to do so. The rule would require transportation departments for states with National Highway System mileage to establish targets for carbon dioxide reduction and report back to the federal agencies, effectively trampling on states’ rights.
This heavy-handed rule is facing blowback from a coalition of conservative states including Alabama, Alaska, Florida, and Wyoming. They’re not about to let the Biden administration run roughshod over their rights. Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron lambasted President Biden for trying to shove his “radical climate agenda” down their throats without proper legislative backing. Joining him in the legal battle, Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen slammed the rule for unfairly punishing rural states, where folks have to drive longer distances.
This lawsuit is a clear message to the Biden administration that their overreach won’t be tolerated. It’s a David vs. Goliath style battle, and these conservative attorneys general have slung their legal stones straight at President Biden, Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, and FHWA Adminstrator Shailen Bhatt. With the fate of the new emissions rules hanging in the balance, it’s a showdown that’s sure to have the Biden administration sweating. The states are asking the court to squash the rule and put a halt to its heavy-handed enforcement.
