DeSantis Slams GOP Defectors After House Vote Keeps Federal Car ‘Kill Switch’ Mandate

The fight over how much control the federal government should have over Americans’ vehicles erupted on Capitol Hill this week, after dozens of Republicans sided with Democrats to block an effort aimed at dismantling a controversial Biden-era policy.

According to Fox News, on Thursday, 57 House Republicans joined the vast majority of Democrats to defeat an amendment that would have rolled back a federal mandate tied to the development of technology allowing vehicles to be disabled if a driver is deemed impaired. 

The amendment, offered by Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., failed by a 164-268 vote.

The proposal sought to undo requirements directing federal regulators to move forward with so-called “kill switch” technology, a term critics use to describe systems that could limit or prevent vehicle operation. Massie’s amendment did not advance, ensuring the underlying mandate remains intact for now.

Had it passed, the amendment would have been incorporated into a sweeping funding package covering the departments of War, Housing and Urban Development, Transportation, and Health and Human Services.

That larger bill went on to clear the House later Thursday with broad bipartisan support, passing by a 341-88 vote.

The failed amendment quickly drew sharp criticism from conservative figures, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. 

In a post to X, DeSantis denounced the vote and warned of its broader implications.

“The idea that the federal government would require auto manufacturers to equip cars with a ‘kill switch’ that can be controlled by the government is something you’d expect in Orwell’s 1984,” DeSantis wrote, invoking the dystopian novel by George Orwell.