Former Trump Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette just dropped a bombshell on Fox Business’s Kudlow, calling for a full-throated assault on the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) and smart incentives for refiners to ramp up domestic fuel production. Speaking with trademark clarity, Brouillette slammed the RFS— that ethanol mandate foisted on us since 2005—as a drag on refining capacity, urging its nationwide elimination alongside permitting reforms to unleash new plants. Let’s take away the renewable fuel standard nationwide, he declared, pairing it with potential tax breaks or subsidies to get refiners building again. This isn’t just energy policy wonkery; it’s a direct shot at the Biden-era supply crunches that have jacked up gas prices to levels that hit every American’s wallet.
Why does this matter beyond the pump? Dive into the context: the RFS forces refiners to blend corn-based ethanol into gasoline, which gums up engines, spikes food prices (hello, Archer Daniels Midland lobbyists), and diverts arable land from actual food production. Brouillette’s fix would flood the market with cheaper, reliable fossil fuels, stabilizing energy costs in a way that echoes the Trump-era abundance. Implications? Lower fuel prices mean more disposable income for everyday folks—truckers, commuters, hunters heading to the range. And here’s the 2A tie-in: affordable gas keeps rural communities mobile, bolsters supply chains for ammo and firearms manufacturing (which guzzles energy), and reduces the squeeze on blue-collar workers who form the backbone of pro-2A strongholds. High energy costs under green mandates disproportionately hammer red states with vast hunting grounds and self-reliant lifestyles; slashing them fortifies Second Amendment culture by making self-sufficiency cheaper and easier.
For the 2A community, this is a rallying cry: energy independence isn’t just about drilling baby drill—it’s about starving the beast of regulatory overreach that indirectly erodes our freedoms. Imagine gas under $3/gallon nationwide, freeing up budgets for AR-15 upgrades or range days without the EPA’s ethanol albatross. Brouillette’s pitch aligns perfectly with pro-2A values of deregulation and American ingenuity—oppose it at your peril, as it hands ammo to the green zealots pushing electric mandates that could strand your truck on the way to the blind. Time to amplify this: contact your reps, push for RFS repeal, and remind D.C. that cheap energy is the lifeblood of liberty.
