Daines Joins Amicus Brief to Overturn Unlawful Biden-Harris Emissions Rule

• November 12, 2024

U.S. Senator Steve Daines today joined a bicameral amicus brief to overturn the Biden-Harris Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) rule that requires state governments to measure greenhouse gas emissions on the highway system and set declining targets.

"This rule is just another example of the Biden-Harris administration's executive overreach that attacks our Montana way of life and does nothing but fuel climate alarmism. I look forward to working with my colleagues in Congress and the incoming Trump administration to reverse the radical climate agenda that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris tried to force on Montanans," said Daines.

Read the amicus brief HERE.

Background:

In November 2023, FHWA adopted a final rule requiring state departments of transportation and metropolitan planning organizations to measure greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions on the highway system and set declining targets. Shortly after the rule was finalized, 21 state attorneys general filed litigation challenging the regulation. The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky found the Biden administration rule to be illegal, but FHWA appealed the decision to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals and it remains under further consideration. In October, Daines joined his colleagues in filing an amicus brief supporting efforts to overturn the rule.

Similarly, the state of Texas filed a separate suit against FHWA, and the District Court for the Northern District of Texas vacated the Biden rule. The Department of Transportation appealed the ruling. Today, Daines joined his colleagues in filing a separate bicameral amicus brief requesting the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals uphold the District Court decision.

The brief argues Congress debated and rejected granting FHWA the authority to issue GHG performance measure rules and the FHWA then intentionally misconstrued Congressional intent to justify its improper exercise of authority. It also argues the rulemaking is not consistent with recent Supreme Court decisions paring back Executive Branch overreach, and FHWA is bypassing principles of federalism to further its own policy agenda.