Trucking exec ‘hopeful’ as Trump EPA targets blue-state emissions regs: ‘Light at the end of the tunnel’

Truckers are “very hopeful” about the trajectory of the auto industry under President Donald Trump after years of feeling like the Biden administration “completely fell asleep behind the wheel,” a trucking executive told Fox News Digital.

“We’re excited, hopeful, because the new administration will help with the issues that we’re having,” Mike Kucharski, co-owner and vice president of JKC Trucking, told Fox News Digital as the Trump administration walks back on Biden-era regulations mandating the sale of more electric vehicles (EVs).

Former President Joe Biden granted California a waiver allowing them to enforce emissions standards that are more stringent than other states, including the Advanced Clean Trucks regulation, which mandates that truck manufacturers sell more zero-emission heavy-duty trucks. However, in February, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sent the previously granted waiver to the Republican-controlled Congress for review.

If Congress decides to strike down the waiver, California could lose its ability to enforce the independent emissions standards, which truckers believe would be “a huge win for the industry,” according to Kucharski.

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“California doesn’t dictate the nation,” the trucking executive told Fox. “And the frustrating part is, we’re in Illinois, we’re not in a much better state than California. But we need a technology that we can use across the whole U.S., not one state demanding that they do it.”

Kucharski says that truckers are in support of green energy alternatives, but that the industry does not have the infrastructure for such strict mandates, citing the 2023 California heatwave when residents were told to avoid charging their electric vehicles due to the heat. 

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The big-rig executive also raised concerns over the ability to charge a large quantity of electric big-rig trucks in California if the emissions standards remain in place.

“Where’s that power going to come from? We would need a miracle or some super-alien technology to make that work,” he told Fox News Digital.

California’s standards, which are the strictest in the country, also “cost truckers money,” he said.

“Right now, we don’t have the money, we’re still dealing with aftershocks of COVID,” Kucharski told Fox. “We hope that this administration can pull us out of this black hole.”

“Truckers are seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. I’m very hopeful,” Kucharski said. “This administration, they’re at least looking out for the good of the American people and for the truckers. And I hope they can get this economy roaring again, as they did in the first administration.”

As the EPA pulls back on the green energy push, Kucharski said there are three issues truckers hope to see addressed under the Trump administration: overregulation, the cost of diesel and achieving energy independence.