U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order removing restrictions on the use of tax-exempt diesel, a move aimed at farmers in the Farm Belt, where Republicans face mounting concern ahead of November's midterm elections. The step amounts to an incentive offered during visits to regions once considered Republican strongholds but now seen as leaning Democratic.
At a campaign rally in Nebraska, one of the Farm Belt states, Trump signed an executive order allowing dyed diesel to be purchased without restrictions, the U.S. political outlet Politico reported on the 5th. Dyed diesel had been exempt from federal fuel taxes but limited to off-road use, including agricultural and construction machinery. Trump's order eliminated the off-road requirement. The administration also plans to suspend enforcement against logistics vehicles transporting agricultural goods that use dyed diesel.
"Every time you fill up, you're going to save over $100," Trump said in his campaign speech. "Farmers are going to save millions of dollars. And this order is going to very substantially lower the cost of everything, including grocery prices," which are affected by diesel costs.
The measure came as diesel prices climbed past $6 a gallon ahead of the midterms. Concerns that the surge was hurting Republican support among farm households, which rely heavily on tractors and trucks, contributed to the decision. Trump repeated his assertion that the price increases stemmed not from the war with Iran but from Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries and refinery closures in Democratic-led states. "It's going to end soon. It could be a little bit after the election, maybe a little bit before the election," he said of the conflict with Iran. "When that happens, oil prices are going to plummet."
Describing the outcome of last month's summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Trump also claimed that "they are going to double what they were buying from this country," adding, "You're hearing it here first."
Still, Politico noted it remains unclear whether the appeal to farmers can sway voters during harvest season, when frustration over already-elevated diesel prices runs high.
Bloomberg analyzed Trump's Nebraska visit itself as a signal that the Senate landscape is shifting. One competitive House district in the state is seen as likely to flip to the Democrats, while attention is rising in the Senate race as Pete Ricketts, a Republican senator and major donor, seeks reelection. In neighboring Iowa and Kansas, Democrats are also judged to have far better odds than they did weeks earlier. The Kansas Senate race is taking on greater weight as Republicans pull back from states such as North Carolina.
Trump visited Oklahoma and Texas last week, along with Alabama and Ohio. Beyond being on the defensive in the Senate, Republicans are seen as at risk of losing seats even in states such as Texas, where district lines were redrawn in their favor last year. Trump has been urging voters to consider him as being on the ballot. That approach, however, has been analyzed as a double-edged sword that drives turnout among both parties' bases.
