A controversial document linked to the Donald Trump campaign outlines a future administration’s policies prioritizing the advancement of autonomous vehicles (AVs) while slowing Biden administration efforts to lower emissions with mandates regarding battery-electric trucks.
Project 2025, from the right-wing Heritage Foundation, has been roundly criticized by Democratic candidates, including Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris. The document lays out several policies from immigration to transportation that would alter the current makeup of the federal government. Even Trump has distanced himself from the document, saying during one of his recent rallies that its proposals were “extreme.”
The 900-page document has a chapter outlining how to change the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to be more friendly to big business while decreasing the number of regulations that guide the industry.
The chapter on transportation says, “Despite the department’s [DOT] tremendous resources, congressional mandates and funding priorities have made it difficult for DOT to focus on the pressing transportation challenges that most directly affect average Americans, such as the high cost of personal automobiles, especially in an era of high inflation; unpredictable and expensive commercial shipping by rail, air, and sea; and infrastructure spending that does not match the types of transportation that most Americans prefer.”
On autonomous trucks, the proposals would prompt the National Highway Safety Administration (NHTSA) and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to speed up new rules governing AVs. Current rules were written before AVs had been developed.
“Both operating administrations have issued Advance Notices of Proposed Rulemakings that begin updating their regulations to reflect this new technology. However, these regulations have stalled under the Biden Administration, which has chosen to use the department’s tools to get people to take transit and drive electric vehicles instead of helping people to choose the transportation options that suit them best,” the document states.
During the first Trump administration, guidelines titled AV 3.0 were proposed but not officially adopted. Project 2025 looks to codify these policies into law. One element of the guidelines would instruct the FMCSA to “no longer assume that the driver is always a human or that a human is necessarily present onboard a commercial vehicle during its operation.”
Several states, including California, have mandated that a human must ride in the cab of an autonomous commercial truck. Industry leaders, however, such as Daimler Trucks North America and Kodiak Robotics have urged the feds to adopt AV 3.0.
Project 2025 is also in opposition to Biden Administration policies regarding reducing emissions by mandating that vehicle dealerships offer more EVs in the future. In California, the California Air Resources Board has made 2050 a goal for eliminate the sales of internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles.
Several industry stakeholders such as the American Trucking Associations and the Owner Operator Independent Drivers Association have staunchly opposed the speed at which the government is moving to adopt more electric vehicles.
Project 2025 states, “In pursuit of an anti-fossil fuel climate agenda never approved by Congress, the Biden administration has raised fuel economy requirements to levels that cannot realistically be met by most categories of ICE vehicles.”
The document further states, “The purpose is to force the auto industry to transition away from traditional technologies to the production of electric vehicles and compel Americans to accept costly EVs despite a clear and persistent consumer preference for ICE-powered vehicles.”
