A 26-state coalition is suing the Biden administration over a new rule that increases the average fuel economy of passenger cars and light trucks.

The states filed a legal challenge in the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals against the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to block the agency’s new fuel economy requirements for passenger cars and light trucks, which the agency finalized on June 7. Provided it withstands legal challenges, the rule will require auto manufacturers to adhere to an industry-wide fleet average of approximately 50.4 miles per gallon for passenger cars and light trucks by 2031 – a move that, critics say, would force car companies to drastically increase the share of their fleets that are electric vehicles (EVs), and, in turn, would negatively impact consumer pocketbooks and American energy independence.

BREAKING: The WV AG is co-leading with Kentucky a coalition of 26 states in challenging the Biden administration’s latest attempt to drive gas-powered vehicles off the road.

READ MORE: https://t.co/jb9FpfihFu pic.twitter.com/vrZh5OATjS

— WV Attorney General (@WestVirginiaAG) June 26, 2024

“Congress did not give the NHTSA such power to reshape an industry that would ultimately affect the pocketbooks of consumers— this rule is legally flawed and unrealistic,” West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey said in a press release announcing the legal challenge on Wednesday. “This will undoubtedly cause the United States to be dependent on other nations like China for our energy needs and will undermine American energy security by increasing demand and straining power grids.”

Critics also cite concerns about Biden-era inflation, which surpassed 20% this month, and a lack of demand for EVs – 46% of respondents were unlikely or very unlikely to purchase an EV, according to a recent poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and the University of Chicago’s Energy Policy Institute.

“President Biden has spent billions and mobilized the entire federal government to push EVs, and Americans still aren’t buying it,” said Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman. “Even if they wanted an EV, fewer and fewer families could afford one because of historic inflation…Kentuckians want the Biden Administration to focus on the crisis at the border, violent crime and the surge of deadly drugs instead of picking its favorites in the auto industry.”

The NHTSA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Featured image credit: (Official White House Photo by Adam Schultz)

The Bolivian military stormed the country’s presidential palace on Wednesday in a coup attempt that quickly failed, according to multiple reports.

The Bolivian military seized the capitol square and stormed the presidential palace on Wednesday at the behest of Army General Juan José Zúñiga, who claimed that the military would “restore democracy” and take power from President Luis Arce, according to The Associated Press. Soldiers deployed tear gas on protesters as a tank crashed into the gates of the palace, allowing forces to break inside.

Zúñiga was quickly arrested and taken into custody by authorities, according to the AP.

BREAKING: Footage of military units storming Bolivia’s presidential palace

(Source: teleSUR TV) pic.twitter.com/EN4wajMe1W

— The Spectator Index (@spectatorindex) June 26, 2024

“The three chiefs of the armed forces have come to express our dismay. There will be a new cabinet of ministers, surely things will change, but our country cannot continue like this any longer,” Zúñiga said on local TV from the main square, per Reuters.

As soldiers began to flood the palace, Arce called on the public to mobilize “in favor of democracy” and said his government would stand firm against attempts to stage a coup, according to The Washington Post and AP. Arce confronted Zúñiga head-on near the entrance of the palace and demanded the military to withdraw, which they did just hours after the coup started.

“I am your captain, and I order you to withdraw your soldiers, and I will not allow this insubordination,” Arce told Zúñiga.

What a picture.

Bolivian President Luis Arce has met the leader of the attempted military coup in Bolivia face to face at the doors of the Presidential Palace. pic.twitter.com/v2DQDhBGwR

— Matt Kennard (@kennardmatt) June 26, 2024

Arce addressed a massive crowd that rallied around the palace in a show of support following the coup’s failure.

After his arrest, Zúñiga bizarrely claimed that Arce orchestrated the coup himself because it would “raise [his] popularity,” according to the AP. Justice Minister Iván Lima said that Zúñiga’s claims were a lie and an attempt to justify his treason.

Arce announced new heads for the country’s army, air force and navy following the coup, according to the AP.

“Thank you to the Bolivian people,” Arce told a crowd of supporters near the palace after the failed coup, according to the AP. “ Let democracy live on.”