ENERGY/EPA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “A phone call from U.S. President Donald Trump last week ended a nearly two-month-long review of the nation’s biofuels program, three sources familiar with the matter said, with the White House siding in favor of oil refiners over corn growers. Trump gave Andrew Wheeler, head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the green light for the regulator to announce it had granted 31 small refinery exemptions out of the 40 applications, saying he wanted the issue off his desk, the sources said. Trump’s call triggered a flurry of action within the EPA, leading up to a surprise Friday [8-16-19] afternoon announcement, after weeks of negotiations between U.S. government agencies failed to make progress in addressing farmers’ concerns.”
–Humeyra Pamuk, “Trump intervention triggered EPA’s surprise biofuel waiver decision: sources,” Reuters, August 16, 2019 4:06 am