OKLAHOMA CITY – Attorney General Gentner Drummond announced today the long-awaited defeat of the Biden Administration’s burdensome emissions regulations from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). In 2023, Oklahoma joined a 21-state coalition to challenge the Biden Administration’s attempt to drive gas-powered cars off the road. The FHWA rule would have forced states to set declining emissions targets for vehicles that travel on federal interstates and highways.
It was just one of the previous administration’s attempts to force a so-called “green agenda” on American families. Estimates show that the cost to establish initial emissions targets required hundreds of hours of manpower, costing each state more than $600,000.
In April 2024, a federal judge in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky declared the FHWA rule was unlawful. The Biden Administration appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Since taking office, President Trump withdrew the former president’s position and FHWA moved to voluntarily dismiss the appeal, delivering a victory for the attorneys general and allowing the district court’s ruling to stand.
“The Biden Administration’s zeal for federal overreach was seemingly insatiable, particularly when it came to attacking the oil and gas industry,” said Drummond. “I am grateful for this victory and President Trump’s commitment to reversing the damage attempted by the previous administration.”
Along with Oklahoma, the FHWA litigation included attorneys general from Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming. Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman led the suit.
Read the Trump Administration’s motion to dismiss the appeal.
