Kamala reverses course on EV mandates despite supporting them for years

In a statement, the Harris campaign said that the VP does not support EV mandates in response to claims made by the Trump-Vance campaign about Harris' position on electric vehicles.

Reporter Amber Duke posted a summary of bill S1487 from the 116th Congress. The bill had been introduced by Sen. Jeff Merkley, but also cosponsored by then-Sen. Kamala Harris and others to “amend the Clean Air Act to create a national zero emission vehicle standard.”

A summary of the bill stated, “The Zero-Emission Vehicles Act would set a Federal Zero-Emissions Vehicle (ZEV) standard to boost the market for battery electric vehicles and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. The standard would require that by 2030, 50% of sales for new passenger vehicles are ZEVs, and ramp up 5% each year to 100% by 2040.”

The Trump-Vance campaign responded to the “fact check,” posting on Trump War Room, “Kamala’s handlers have done another walk back, now claiming that she doesn’t support electric vehicle mandates.”

“This one is particularly interesting because the government that she is currently working for is trying to convert half of gas cars to electric by 2030,” the campaign added.

An ABC News story from Aug. 16 noted how a Harris presidency would herald good news for EVs, because the candidate was actively promoting the policies of President Joe Biden.

On Tuesday, Harris also changed course on her long-standing opposition to former President Donald Trump’s border wall and is now reportedly supporting the massive project, which she once described as a “medieval vanity project.”

Around 40 percent of the Biden-Harris “green energy” spending plans are now on hold or scrapped. Harris’ waning enthusiasm for EVs might be related to a similar feeling from the automotive industry. Ford has delayed the introduction of the electric truck after cutting back on EV-150s because of low consumer demand.

Consumers also find it difficult to locate a charging station, and once they find one, they are often inoperable. EV charging stations in Chicago turned into car graveyards when temperature plummeted last January.