Statewide Iowa (RI) — President Donald Trump says the top GOP leaders in congress are working on a deal that would ensure year-round sales of E-15, the fuel that contains 15 percent ethanol.
The issue was removed from a government spending bill last week after push back from critics in the House. During a speech in Iowa, Trump pushed the issue back into the spotlight with a question of the crowd.
Trump also cited a statement he made on the Iowa campaign trail in 2023.
E-10, which is 90 percent unleaded gas and 10 percent ethanol, is the most common blended fuel in the market today. While E-15 is available in many markets, the EPA has cited smog concerns and banned selling E-15 during the summer months.
Iowa Renewable Fuels Association Executive Director Monte Shaw says Trump’s remarks are an important signal.
Shaw is among a small group of ethanol advocates that met with Trump at a restaurant to talk about E-15.
Trump spoke for nearly an hour to a crowd at Horizon Events Center in Clive, reviewing his first year back in the White House and focusing on this year’s mid-term elections.
Second District Congresswoman Ashley Hinson, who’s running for the U.S. Senate, and Third District Congressman Zach Nunn of Ankeny spoke to the crowd before Trump arrived.
A few hours before Trump’s remarks, Iowa Democratic Party Chair Rita Hart told reporters Iowans are literally paying more because of his disastrous policies, like tariffs.
Tracy Chew, a UAW member recently laid off from the soon-to-close CNH plant in Burlington, joined the online news conference.
Outside the Trump rally, protesters lined the street. They carried signs demanding the removal of immigration and border patrol agents from Minneapolis.
Shirley Keenan of Des Moines says immigration officers are treating people inhumanely.
A protester inside for Trump’s speech yelled “Release the files!” — a reference to the files related to convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein — and was escorted out by police.
KIWA Staff Photo
