A federal judge on Monday blocked the Biden administration's new emissions rule that would have required states to set greenhouse gas reduction targets to receive federal highway funding, the Daily Caller News Foundation reported.
The day before Thanksgiving, the Biden administration's Federal Highway Administration announced new regulations forcing state departments of transportation to "establish declining carbon dioxide" goals, Blaze News previously reported. The White House and the rule's supporters touted the measure as having "flexibility" because it did "not mandate how low targets must be."
According to the new rule, the targets and the progress made toward those targets would "be used to inform the future investment decisions of the Federal Government."
Critics argued that the Biden administration was using the rule to force Americans to switch to electric vehicles or public transportation.
Republican North Dakota Sen. Kevin Cramer released a statement in November accusing the "Biden bureaucracy" of "returning to their stale playbook of inventing illegal, punitive regulatory schemes."
"This final rule is contrary to congressional intent, usurps state authority by putting the federal government in the driver's seat, and is fundamentally unworkable in rural states like North Dakota," Cramer added.
A coalition of 21 states filed a lawsuit in December against the president, the United States Department of Transportation, and the Federal Highway Administration, claiming the agencies lacked the authority to regulate emissions or force states to follow the new measures, Courthouse News Service reported.
The plaintiff states in the case included Kentucky, South Dakota, Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron (R) argued that the rule would impact "the American economy" by requiring states to "make choices about projects, contracts, and regulations in order to meet the declining targets."
"Any mandated decline in on-road CO2 emissions will disproportionately affect states with more rural areas," Cameron wrote in the suit.
"States with fewer metropolitan areas have fewer options available to them to reduce CO2. Many of the ideas for how states can decrease GHG emissions — congestion pricing, road pricing, ramp metering, increased coordination with transit and non motorized improvements, paying fees to scrap low mileage heavy duty vehicles — are options more conducive to metropolitan areas, not rural ones," he continued. "Low population densities limit the efficacy of public transit and congestion pricing as options that would reduce vehicle miles traveled and, consequently, CO2 emissions."
United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky Judge Benjamin Beaton, appointed by former President Trump, blocked the Biden administration's rule on Monday.
In his opinion, Beaton declared, "Even assuming Congress gave the Administrator authority to set environmental performance standards that embrace CO2, the Administrator exercised that authority in an arbitrary and capricious manner."
Beaton agreed that the rule lacked a statutory basis. However, he did not enjoin the regulation's enforcement or vacate it.
A spokesperson for the Federal Highway Administration told the DCNF, "The Department of Transportation and Federal Highway Administration remain committed to supporting the Biden-Harris Administration's climate goals of cutting carbon pollution in half by 2030 and achieving net-zero emissions by 2050."
"We are reviewing the court's decision and determining next steps," the spokesperson added.
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Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron (R) lost the Bluegrass State's gubernatorial election to incumbent Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear, and former President Donald Trump, who had backed Cameron in the contest, is blaming Sen. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) for Cameron's loss.
"Daniel Cameron lost because he couldn't alleviate the stench of Mitch McConnell," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "I told him early that's a big burden to overcome. McConnell and Romney are Kryptonite for Republican Candidates. I moved him up 25 Points, but the McConnell relationship was 'too much to bear.' Tate Reeves, on the other hand, surged to a win for Governor in Mississippi after my involvement. Congratulations to Tate!"
Cameron previously served as legal counsel to McConnell. "As legal counsel to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Cameron participated in the successful confirmation of conservative federal judges, including Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch," according to ag.ky.gov.
Trump endorsed Cameron in 2022 long before Cameron went on to win the Kentucky GOP gubernatorial primary in 2023.
"Wow, Daniel Cameron of Kentucky has made a huge surge, now that they see my strong Endorsement, and the fact that he's not really 'a McConnell guy,'" Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Saturday. "They only try to label him that because he comes from the Great State of Kentucky. Anyway, Go Daniel, great future for you and your State—You will bring it to new levels of success, and I will help you!"
Trump has endorsed McConnell in the past. "Senator Mitch McConnell (@Team_Mitch) always delivers for the people of Kentucky, who will hopefully re-elect their powerful Senate Majority Leader. Mitch has helped us Make America Great Again, and has my Complete and Total Endorsement!" Trump tweeted in June 2020.
After losing the contest, Cameron asked people to pray for the governor, his team, and the whole commonwealth, noting that "what ultimately matters, is that we know that Christ is on the throne."
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The political right faced losses in elections on Tuesday, as Kentucky's incumbent Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear secured re-election, defeating Republican state Attorney General Daniel Cameron in the Bluegrass State's gubernatorial contest, while Ohioans approved an abortion-related ballot initiative.
"Tonight, our Commonwealth rejected anger politics and proved there is more that unites us than can ever divide us," Beshear tweeted.
— (@)
In Ohio, Buckeye State voters approved an amendment to the state constitution that says everyone "has a right to make and carry out one's own reproductive decisions" on abortion and other issues.
While the amendment says that abortions may be prohibited following fetal viability, it stipulates that abortions may not be barred in cases where a physician deems an abortion is needed for the life or health of the pregnant individual.
"Thousands and thousands of babies will die in Ohio as a result of this evil, anti-human amendment. The pro-life movement and the church have some serious work to do," the Babylon Bee managing editor Joel Berry tweeted.
"If you're a pastor of a church and didn't call your congregation to vote against this amendment, you're no longer qualified to be a pastor," he added. "If you're a pastor and you did speak out, well done—but you need to do more. Appoint a pastor in charge of political engagement. Lead voter registration drives and get people out to the polls. In states where it's legal, ballot harvest. This is salt & light stuff. Get to work," he continued.
In Mississippi's gubernatorial contest, incumbent Republican Gov. Tate Reeves is running against Mississippi Public Service Commissioner Brandon Presley, a Democrat who is a second cousin of the late music icon Elvis Presley, according to reports. As of the time of publishing, the Associated Press had not yet called the race.
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For Democrats, family disruption and government dependency were the objectives from the beginning.
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