Manchin signs onto GOP effort to overturn Biden truck pollution rule

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) is joining Republicans in an effort to overturn a Biden administration rule that aims to limit pollution from heavy-duty trucks. 

Manchin, in a statement on Wednesday ahead of an expected vote on the measure, said he would support a resolution that seeks to nix the regulation.

“I am proud to support this resolution to stop this government overreach,” he said in a written statement. 

He raised concerns about the effects on the trucking industry and what they could mean for supply chains. 

“The Biden Administration wants to burden the trucking industry with oppressive regulations that will increase prices by thousands of dollars and push truck drivers and small trucking companies out of business,” he said in the statement. 

“When our country faces record-high inflation and vulnerable supply chains, we cannot let the EPA continue to seize unrestrained power and create regulations that devastate our economy,” he added. 

The rule the lawmakers are trying to annul aims to cut down on emissions of pollutants called nitrogen oxides that can harm the respiratory system. 

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says its limitations will prevent as many as 2,900 premature deaths and 18,000 fewer cases of childhood asthma annually by 2045. 

Manchin has also joined Republicans in opposing several other Biden administration regulations, including those related to water policy and retirement investments. 

The senator has not yet said whether he is running for reelection, but if he does, he faces what is expected to be a tough fight in ruby-red West Virginia and may be in a better position if he distances himself from Biden. 

More broadly, Manchin has expressed frustration with the Biden administration in recent weeks on a range of issues, including its implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act and negotiations over the debt limit.