In his first act in office, new Trump transportation secretary Sean Duffy signed a memorandum directing the agency to review former President Joe Biden’s fuel economy standards, which aim to reduce vehicle emissions. 

Shortly after the Senate confirmed Duffy on Tuesday, he signed a memo to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) asking the agency to review its corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards for vehicles and trucks. 

The memo cited President Donald Trump’s executive order, “Unleashing American Energy,” which calls for the administration to begin promoting the oil and fossil fuel industry. 

“These fuel economy standards are set at such aggressive levels that automakers cannot, as a practical matter, satisfy the standards without rapidly shifting production away from internal-combustion engine (ICE) vehicles to alternative electric technologies,” the memo reads. 

In June, NHTSA finalized new fuel economy standards that would require passenger cars to average 65 miles per gallon and light trucks to average 45 miles per gallon by 2031. 

“Not only will these new standards save Americans money at the pump every time they fill up, they will also decrease harmful pollution and make America less reliant on foreign oil,” former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said at the time. “These standards will save car owners more than $600 in gasoline costs over the lifetime of their vehicle.”

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Duffy’s memo stated that the standards “diminish” the domestic auto industry and make it difficult for Americans to purchase affordable vehicles. It added that the purpose of the fuel economy standards is not to force consumers to purchase electric vehicles but rather to establish “realistic” standards. 

On his first day in office, Trump signed an executive order to end policies supporting the electric vehicle industry. The administration is also expected to undo the electric vehicle tax credit in the Inflation Reduction Act and the Environmental Protection Agency’s tailpipe emission rule. These policies, along with the CAFE standards, are described by Republicans and Trump as an “EV mandate.”