The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) recently announced they are withdrawing the Biden-era highway greenhouse gas rule, and the transportation agency has dropped both of its court appeals in defense of the emissions performance measures. You may recall, AGC has been fighting this rule in Congress, at FHWA, and in the courts. AGC also highlighted our concerns with the rule in our letter to then President-elect Trump.
The withdrawal follows two federal district court rulings that deemed the greenhouse gas rule an unlawful overreach of executive power. Judges in both the Texas and Kentucky federal district courts sided with AGC’s arguments, agreeing that the rule exceeds the FHWA’s statutory authority, undermines state autonomy, and could divert resources from critical infrastructure priorities such as safety and resilience. The Texas court vacated the rule.
AGC had partnered with the American Road and Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) to fund amicus briefs in the lower court cases and the subsequent appeals. In the face of consensus from the courts and industry stakeholders like AGC, the Trump administration withdrew the appeals and is preparing to issue a proposed rule repealing the emissions standards.
Thank you for all of your help with sending in action alerts and for your contributions to the Construction Advocacy Fund which made AGC’s involvement in this lawsuit possible.
For additional information please contact Spencer Phillips.