Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy spent Monday doing something cabinet secretaries love: taking a victory lap. He backed President Donald Trump's decision to roll back corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards, a move the administration says will bring down sticker prices on vehicles in the U.S.

Duffy Takes Aim at Biden and Buttigieg

In a post on X, Duffy said the Department of Transportation (DOT) had "approved updated Fuel Economy Standards," which he said would end the "CRAZY EV mandates" put in place by former President Joe Biden and former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

The move would also cut "costly regulations" for automakers, Duffy said. He shared that the decision would "lower prices on new cars," result in "$138B savings for Americans" over five years, and bring jobs to states like Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, South Carolina and more.

What the DOT Said

The DOT, in an official statement on Monday, projected the rule would cut the average new-vehicle cost by $1,300 for U.S. consumers and deliver $138 billion in savings over five years.

The agency also said it expects the shift to prevent more than 300,000 serious injuries and avoid 1,900 deaths by encouraging more purchases of newer models.

"Thanks to President Trump's leadership, we have finally ended the illegal mandate that forced automakers to produce more expensive electric vehicles that American families didn't want," Duffy said.

NHTSA estimates the standards would yield a fleetwide average of 34.9 miles per gallon by model year 2031, compared with 30.1 miles per gallon for model year 2024.

The department also projected that annual oil use in 2050 would be about 1.3 billion barrels lower than annual consumption in 2024.

The rule sets requirements for passenger cars and light trucks for model years 2022 through 2031. DOT also said it plans to end CAFE credit trading beginning in model year 2028.

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