A U.S. judge on Wednesday ruled against the Biden administration in a ruling on highway climate regulations.
This rule was published by the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) in December 2023. The rule requires states to measure and report greenhouse gas emissions from all vehicles using the U.S. highway system.
The rule also required states to set carbon reduction goals and report on progress toward those goals. Texas responded by suing the DOT.
U.S. District Judge James Wesley Hendricks, a Trump appointee, ruled in Texas’ favor, writing Wednesday that “this rule was unauthorized.”
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A Texas judge has ruled against the Biden administration in a lawsuit challenging the Department of Transportation’s highway regulations. (Getty Images)
“It will provide states with a clear and consistent framework for tracking carbon pollution and the flexibility to set their own climate goals,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in issuing the rule three months ago. said.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office argued in a December statement that the DOT “does not have the legal authority to enact such a rule and its mission violates the Administrative Procedure Act.”
“Furthermore, this rule is arbitrary and capricious and violates spending provisions that impermissibly limit the use of federal funds by requiring TxDOT to implement greenhouse gas mitigation measures.”
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Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg speaks at a press conference in New York City on June 28, 2021. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
Texas is also suing the Biden administration on climate-related grounds in a separate lawsuit. Last week, a group of 16 Republican states filed a lawsuit over the Department of Energy’s (DOE) moratorium on a major liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminal project.
“Biden’s unilateral executive order ignores statutory obligations, ignores legal process, disrupts the oil and gas industry, disrupts the Texas economy, and destroys our constitutional structure,” Paxton wrote on March 21. ” he said.
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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton issued a statement on May 26, 2023 from his office in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)
Fox News Digital has reached out to DOT for comment.
Thomas Catenacci of Reuters and Fox News Digital contributed to this report.
