Judge Declares Federal Emissions Rule ‘Arbitrary and Capricious’

A second federal judge, this time in Kentucky, declared the Biden administration’s new emissions rule unlawful but declined to vacate it, noting that a Texas judge struck it down nationwide last month.

As Nate Raymond explains in an article for Reuters, “In adopting the rule, the FHWA, a part of the U.S. Department of Transportation, relied on a statute that gave the agency authority to establish measures that state departments of transportation could use to assess the national highway system's performance.” Judge Benjamin Beaton said this doesn’t let the federal government override states, which can set their own targets and standards.

“Rather than vacating the rule, Beaton issued declaratory judgment declaring it arbitrary and capricious and gave the parties 21 days to address the need for any additional relief, such as an injunction ‘tailor-made to fit relief’ addressing only the states before him.”