A US judge ruled against a Biden administration highway climate rule that required states to measure and report greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles using US highways, and to set declining carbon dioxide targets.
The December 2023 rule by the Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration was challenged in a lawsuit by Texas.
The rule “will provide states with a clear and consistent framework to track carbon pollution and the flexibility to set their own climate targets,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said.
The judge, a Trump appointee, decided the DOT did not have authority to institute the rule, which Texas argued also violated the Administrative Procedure Act and restricted use of federal funds.
Texas has separately sued the Biden administration over other climate-related policies, including a pause of liquefied natural gas export terminal projects being challenged by 16 Republican states.
The Texas Attorney General criticized these actions as disregarding legal processes, disrupting state economies, and subverting the constitutional structure.
The DOT “does not have the statutory authority to institute such a rule, and the mandate violates the Administrative Procedure Act,” Texas AG Ken Paxton said.
“Further, the rule is arbitrary and capricious and violates the Spending Clause by impermissibly restricting the use of federal funds by requiring TxDOT to implement the greenhouse gas measure.”
“Biden’s unilateral decree disregards statutory mandates, flouts the legal process, upends the oil and gas industry, disrupts the Texas economy, and subverts our constitutional structure,” Paxton said.
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