Trump Seeks to Allay Farm-State Uproar in Oval Office Meeting
President Donald Trump presided over a lengthy Oval Office meeting Monday in which he urged officials to soften the impact of recent policy moves that angered Midwestern farm states critical to his re-election.
Monday’s back-and-forth illustrates an intensifying clash over U.S. policy that pits two of Trump’s top political constituencies -- farmers and oil interests -- against each other. The administration is divided, with the U.S. Department of Agriculture favoring farmers and the EPA insisting the law compels them to waive the restrictions for refineries.
The meeting Monday with Trump was to discuss trade with China but quickly turned into a fuels versus farmers discussion because the U.S. ambassador to China, former Iowa Governor Terry Branstad, had just spent a few days in Iowa and was concerned about the harm he believed the refinery waivers will cause rural America.
During the Oval Office session and at least one follow-up call, administration officials discussed broad policy changes designed to mollify farm-state critics and expand the market for corn-based ethanol. Branstad asked if the U.S. could mandate auto companies make all vehicles capable of running on a wide variety of fuels, so consumers can choose what to use. The idea was quickly rebuffed.
Read more: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-08-20/trump-seeks-to-allay-farm-state-uproar-in-oval-office-meeting
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