Manchin Threatens to Sue Biden Admin If It Alters Electric Vehicle Credit System

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) has stated that he will sue the Biden administration if the Treasury Department expands the electric vehicle tax credit system beyond the agreed limits. These limits were set when he supported Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) legislation last year.

On Wednesday, Manchin published an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal stating that he and Biden had agreed to certain objectives when passing the IRA. However, he charged that executive branch officials are now redefining legal terms to favor renewable energy systems while ignoring provisions of the law designed to expand fossil fuel production.

Manchin claims that “Specifically, they are ignoring the law’s intent to support and expand fossil energy and are redefining ‘domestic energy’ to increase clean-energy spending to potentially deficit-breaking levels. The administration is attempting at every turn to implement the bill it wanted, not the bill Congress actually passed.”

The IRA was passed on a party-line vote in the Senate, with Vice President Kamala Harris breaking the tie. It passed with the support of all Democrats except one, as well as the House.

The legislation included tax credits of up to $7,500 for electric vehicles, subject to the minerals for their batteries being refined or processed in the United States or with countries that have a free trade agreement with the United States. Additionally, the vehicle would need to undergo final assembly in North America.

Even before the IRA was passed, some auto industry officials believed that the supply chain provisions would disqualify many vehicle models. John Bozzella, president and CEO of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, stated that “a likely result of this bill (as currently constructed) is that a significant number of consumers will not be able to take advantage of this credit in the early years when it is needed the most.”

The Treasury Department announced in December that it would delay implementing the supply chain provisions and instead prepare new guidance for calculating electric vehicle tax credits by the end of March. It remains uncertain how this will impact the electric vehicle market.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Manchin said that “if the Treasury Department guidance goes off the rails” and violates the intent of the climate legislation approved in August, “I will do whatever I can—if that means going to court and I can do it, I’d do it.”

Biden White House Says Relationship With Manchin Remains Respectful

Despite Manchin’s threat, the Biden administration has stated that it maintains a respectful relationship with the senator.