States and cities sue Trump admin for loosening car fuel efficiency standards

A coalition of 20 states, the District of Columbia, and five cities filed a petition in the First Circuit challenging a new National Highway Traffic Safety Administration rule that lowers fuel efficiency targets for passenger cars and light trucks to 34.9 miles per gallon by 2031, down from a previous target above 50 mpg. New York Attorney General Letitia James, part of the coalition, said the rollback amounts to handouts to the oil industry at a time of rising gas prices.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy defended the change by blaming the prior administration for twisting mileage standards into what he called an illegal electric vehicle mandate that raised prices on vehicles consumers didn't want. The Environmental Defense Fund, which filed a parallel challenge, said the administration's own projections show drivers will pay more than $1,600 more in fuel costs over a vehicle's life and that the rule will add over 121 billion gallons of fuel consumption through 2050.

The states argue the rollback misreads the 1970s-era fuel economy law and, per a February memo, is driven by executive orders favoring fossil fuel consumption rather than the law's stated purpose. Because NHTSA rules go straight to federal appellate review, the case bypasses lower courts entirely.

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