Manchin joins Republican-led bid to ax Biden truck pollution rule

West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin announced Wednesday that he would lend his support to a Republican-backed effort to overturn a Biden administration rule limiting pollution from large trucks.

The Environmental Protection Agency posits that the regulations could prevent nearly 3,000 deaths through 2045 by reducing emissions of nitrogen oxides, according to The Hill. 

"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," Manchin said, ahead of a vote on a resolution to eliminate the regulation. "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."

"I am proud to support this resolution to stop this government overreach," he added.

The moderate lawmaker's remarks follow a declaration earlier this week in which Manchin vowed to see the Inflation Reduction Act repealed if the Biden administration did not pursue energy security provisions within the legislation.

"They broke their word to the American public," he said. "If they don’t change, then I would vote to repeal my own bill."

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on Twitter.