Trump Tells EPA to Halt Ethanol Quota Changes

Source: Bloomberg

President Donald Trump intervened personally with the Environmental Protection Agency amid pressure from Republicans in the politically important state of Iowa who worried the agency was poised to weaken biofuel quotas, three people familiar with the discussions said.

Trump directed EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt to back off any changes that would dilute a federal mandate for biofuel use, the people said. A top EPA official said Trump’s urging was unnecessary because Pruitt wasn’t planning on weakening the mandate.

Nevertheless, the agency was told by the White House to drop two changes that were under consideration: a possible reduction in biodiesel requirements and a proposal to allow exported renewable fuel to count toward domestic quotas, said the people, who asked not to be identified because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the move.

The issue is politically treacherous for the president because it pits his allies in the oil industry against Midwest voters who helped elect him, including Iowans who hold first-in-the-nation presidential caucuses. While campaigning in Iowa last year, Trump pledged to protect ethanol and the biofuel mandate.

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Read more: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-10-18/trump-joins-debate-on-epa-ethanol-rule-in-call-to-iowa-governor

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This also looks like a quid pro quo, since Grassley, who wanted this, just launched an investigation into the Clinton/FBI/Russia/uranium story just resuscitated by RW journalists John Solomon at The Hill and Sara Carter at Circa. This is apparently designed as the latest counter narrative to protect Trump, smear Clinton and Obama, and discredit the FBI.

Interesting that Iowa gets this reassurance on biofuel quotas just as those stories are published and Grassley starts talking about the "new evidence" for his investigation.

My thread earlier today pointing out there seemed to be a quid pro quo in the works, with news about phone calls from Trump and Pruitt to Iowa's governor:

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10029725364

My thread on these latest fake news stories from the RW smear machine, and how discredited John Solomon is as a journalist:

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10029723589