Ted Cruz, Sean Duffy Slam Biden Admin's CAFE Standards, Tout Safer, Affordable Cars For Americans Amid Trump Rollback: 'Buttigieg And Biden Broke..'
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy have hailed President Donald Trump's move to relax CAFE norms amid affordability concerns.
Car Costs To Be Lowered By ‘Thousands Of Dollars,' Says Ted Cruz
Taking to the social media platform X on Wednesday, Cruz said that the rollback was a "big deal" as it would lower the costs of cars and trucks in the U.S. by "thousands of dollars."
In the post, he stated that "Biden's CAFE standards forced automakers to build cars Americans didn't want or couldn't afford," while also claiming that the decision would also result in safer cars as the Biden administration's policies made automakers "replace steel with plastic" and make cars more affordable while saving lives.
Sean Duffy Slams Pete Buttigieg
Duffy, during the White House press briefing, called the Democrat party's affordability opinions "a lie," while aiming at Biden-era Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
"Biden and Buttigieg… used EVs and Hybrids to come up with a 62-mile-an-hour-per-gallon standard," Duffy said, adding that the figure was "completely unattainable" and drove up vehicle costs.
He also highlighted that the standards were forcing automakers to trade Carbon credits, a lucrative revenue stream of automakers like Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA), which cost "billions of dollars" and drove up costs further for the car companies.
Duffy said that the revised standards exposed "the truth," which was that "Buttigieg and Biden broke the law and forced auto manufacturers to build EVs — jacking up car prices for families."
Ford CEO Hails Relaxed CAFE Norms
As Trump announced the relaxation of CAFE norms, Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F) CEO Jim Farley hailed the move, while also reaffirming commitment toward investing in U.S.-made vehicles. Farley shared that the rollback would help Ford "invest more in affordable vehicles."
Meanwhile, Governor Gavin Newsom (D-Calif.) slammed the administration's decision to relax the CAFE standards, calling it a move that will drive up fuel costs and "poison" the air. Newsom also said that Trump was letting China take the lead in EVs and clean energy sectors.
Ted Cruz's Affordability Challenge
Cruz has challenged vehicle safety features like automatic emergency braking and rear seat child occupant alerts, which he says drive up costs for vehicles, which have doubled in the past decade due to "onerous government-mandated technologies and radical environmental regulations," Cruz said.
The Senate's Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, led by Cruz, has invited top officials from Ford, General Motors Co. (NYSE:GM) and Stellantis NV (NYSE:STLA) and Tesla for a hearing on the matter next year in January.
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