From the Daily Caller News Foundation 

By Nick Pope

Energy-focused organizations called on lawmakers to scrap the Biden-Harris administration’s electric vehicle (EV) “mandate” in a Thursday letter.

More than two dozen energy groups sent the letter to every lawmaker in Congress, urging them to push through Congressional Review Act (CRA) proceedings against the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) tailpipe emissions standards for light-duty vehicles. The CRA enables legislators to effectively overturn federal regulations provided a resolution targeting a specific rule can pass both chambers of Congress and gets signed by the president, or if lawmakers can manage to override a presidential veto, according to the Congressional Research Service.

“This EPA rulemaking is clearly beyond the scope of the regulatory power granted to the agency by Congress,” the letter states. “While this overreach will be litigated in the courts, a positive CRA decision now would ensure that consumers are protected today, rather than wait years for the issue to work its way through the court system.” CRA Tailpipe Coalition Letter Final by Nick Pope on Scribd

Specifically, automakers could come into compliance with the EPA’s rules if EVs make up 56% of their new car sales by 2032, with an additional 13% of sales being plug-in hybrids, according to The Associated Press. While the Biden-Harris administration maintains that the regulations are not an EV mandate, critics say that the rules will effectively force manufacturers to increase EV production to such an extent that they amount to a de facto mandate.

The Biden-Harris administration has set a target of having 50% of all new car sales be EVs by 2030 as part of its broader green energy and climate agenda. Despite billions of dollars of spending and stringent regulation, American consumers remain hesitant to switch over to all-electric models while manufacturers are losing large amounts of cash on their EV product lines and starting to back off of ambitious short-term production goals.

“In a move that shocks no one, the Biden-Harris EPA has once again overstepped its authority with their EV mandate. By prioritizing politics over personal freedoms, this Administration is destroying the cornerstone of our economy — consumer choice,” Tom Pyle, president of the American Energy Alliance, said. “What the Biden-Harris Administration is trying to do with his mandate is deceptive, ill-advised, and a gross overreach of power. While it will undoubtedly be litigated by those who stand on the side of consumer choice and economic freedom, passage of the CRA resolution will ensure consumers are protected today.”

Beyond the American Energy Alliance, other signatories include Americans for Prosperity, the Western Energy Alliance, Heritage Action, the Competitive Enterprise Institute and Always On Energy Research.

From the Daily Caller News Foundation 

By Robert Schmad

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters on Wednesday declined to make an endorsement in the 2024 presidential election just hours after releasing internal polling data showing that the workers it represents strongly favor former President Donald Trump.

Among rank-and-file members of the major union, 59.6% surveyed said they believe the Teamsters should endorse Trump, compared to just 31% voicing support for Vice President Kamala Harris, a more than 25-point gap that remained more or less unchanged after the union ordered a subsequent survey after the Sept. 10 presidential debate. Despite the poll results, the union refused to make an endorsement as there was “no majority support” for Harris and a lack of “universal support” for Trump, it revealed on Wednesday.

A Teamsters spokesperson did not immediately clarify why the union had different standards for the two candidates. 

“The Teamsters thank all candidates for meeting with members face-to-face during our unprecedented roundtables,” Teamsters General President Sean O’Brien said. “Unfortunately, neither major candidate was able to make serious commitments to our union to ensure the interests of working people are always put before Big Business. We sought commitments from both Trump and Harris not to interfere in critical union campaigns or core Teamsters industries — and to honor our members’ right to strike — but were unable to secure those pledges.”

The union cited Trump’s refusal to commit to vetoing right-to-work legislation as part of its reasoning for not issuing an endorsement.

The Teamsters, which have historically supported Democrats and often donate to left-of-center causes, made an effort to court Republicans this election cycle. The union made a donation to the Republican National Committee, met with Trump, and O’Brien was even invited to speak at the Republican National Convention. Some on the right have resisted the union’s attempt to ingratiate itself among conservatives, like the Center for Union Facts which put up billboards outside the Republican National Convention calling the Teamsters “two-faced” over its history of liberal spending.

While Republicans were generally open to the Teamsters, the Democratic National Convention snubbed O’Brien by not allowing him to speak at the event, according to The Associated Press.

Harris is considerably less popular among rank-and-file Teamsters than President Joe Biden, who only trailed Trump by about 8 points in a survey ordered by the union prior to his withdrawal from the race. Union leadership met with Harris for a roundtable discussion on Monday, The Hill reported.

“We represent everybody from airline pilots and zookeepers, and we don’t just represent registered Democrats,” O’Brien said to reporters.

The Teamsters’ endorsement could have had a significant impact if it went to either candidate given the concentration of its members in the swing states of Michigan, Nevada and Pennsylvania, according to Reuters.