The Energy 202: Trump Administration Stuck between Two GOP Sides on Ethanol

Agriculture (USDA)Environmental Protection Agency Federal Agency/Executive Branch Federal Regulation Opinions Policy White House

October 27, 2017

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by Dino Grandoni (Washington Post) The Environmental Protection Agency, in its ambitious effort to roll back the previous administration's energy and environmental policies, has had a significant stumble with Republicans lawmakers. On both sides of the ethanol debate.

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On Thursday, nine Republican senators from six oil-refining states — Arizona, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah and Wyoming — sent a letter to President Trump requesting a meeting with him about the RFS.

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Independent refiners most affected by the renewable mandate were pleased with the letter. “We applaud the Senators for voicing concerns with the RFS and their commitment to a strong domestic refining industry," Chet Thompson, president of the lobbying group American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers, said in a statement.

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Giving the screw an extra turn, at least one of the signers, Ted Cruz of Texas, put a hold on the nomination of Bill Northey, Iowa’s agriculture secretary, who Trump picked for as undersecretary position in the Agriculture Department, preventing a vote on the Senate floor (for now).

The Senate Agriculture Committee had easily approved Northey. Politico first reported the holds on Thursday.

That delay holds up the potential ascension of Pat Grassley, an Iowa state representative and Grassley's grandson, who the senator had been pushing to get the soon-to-be-vacant top agriculture post in the Hawkeye State.

“There are mechanisms in the Senate that are aimed at encouraging dialogue and resolving different points of view," Grassley said in a statement. “I’d be happy to discuss Secretary Northey’s outstanding qualifications to be a top USDA official with any of my colleagues.”

The political dilemma for Trump is that both refining and farming states make up the coalition that put him in White House. Pleasing one side will upset the other. READ MORE

Senators from refinery states request Trump meeting on biofuels (Reuters)

Trib editorial: Ethanol's slow burn in the renewable fuel follies (Tribune Review)

Valero discusses RFS, RIN policy during investor call (Ethanol Producer Magazine)

RFS THREAT AVERTED (FOR NOW) (Minnesota Bio-Fuels Association)

Ted Cruz Seeks Revenge On Trump’s EPA For Backsliding On Biofuels Reforms (Daily Caller)

No recommendation, but Iowa agriculture secretary Northey has discussed his replacement with Reynolds (The Gazette)

Perdue Praises Pruitt’s RFS Decision (Energy.AgWired.com)

Sixty-Four House Members Tell Pruitt RFS has Failed (DTN The Progressive Farmer)

Bob Goodlatte leads lawmakers in pushback against ethanol (Washington Examiner)

U.S. lawmakers seek 'well-rounded biofuels policies' (Reuters)

Trump 'caved' on biofuel program and 'failed to drain the swamp,' says CEO of Carl Icahn-controlled oil refiner (CNBC)

UPDATE 1-Icahn refinery cuts biofuels short amid reform standstill (Reuters)

Sixty-Four House Members Tell Pruitt RFS has Failed (DTN The Progressive Farmer)

MAIL CALL! HOUSE LAWMAKERS HIT BACK ON RFS (Politico's Morning Energy)

Excerpt from Politico's Morning Energy: Sixty-four House lawmakers, led by Republican Bob Goodlatte and Democrat Peter Welch, slammed the RFS in a letter to Pruitt as "a well-intentioned but deeply flawed policy that has negatively impacted families and businesses" around the country. They urged EPA to factor in its "significant pitfalls and costs" in future regulatory actions. READ MORE