President Donald Trump says the top GOP leaders in congress are working on a deal that would ensure year-round sales of E15, the fuel that contains 15% ethanol.
“I am trusting Speaker Mike Johnson, who’s great, and Leader John Thune, who’s great — that’s House and Senate — to find a deal that works,” Trump said. “We’ve got it for farmers, consumers and refiners — including small and mid-sized refiners.”
The issue was removed from a government spending bill last week after push back from critics in the House. During a speech in Iowa yesterday, Trump first pushed the issue back into the spotlight with a question of the crowd. “Do you want me to do something with ethanol? Maybe,” Trump said, to cheers.
Trump then cited a statement he made on the Iowa campaign trail in 2023. “In the campaign I promised to support E15 all year round,” Trump said.
E10, which is 90% unleaded gas and 10% ethanol, is the most common blended fuel in the market today. While E15 is available in many markets, the EPA has cited smog concerns and banned selling E15 during the summer months. Iowa Renewable Fuels Association Executive Director Monte Shaw said Trump’s remarks are an important signal
“He publicly was telling congress to get this to his desk,” Shaw said, “and I think that’s going to be very helpful in getting the last few votes we need to get a deal through congress.”
Shaw is among a small group of ethanol advocates that met briefly with Trump at a restaurant yesterday afternoon to talk about E15. “I think E15 could be President Trump’s singular achievement for farmers if he can actually push this through congress. I mean after all, we’ve been trying to do that for 10 years,” Shaw said during an interview with Radio Iowa. “…This would be brand new market demand and he would be the godfather of E15.”
Trump spoke for nearly an hour to a crowd at an events center in Clive, reviewing his first year back in the White House and focusing on this year’s midterm elections. “If we lose the midterms, you’ll lose so many of the things we’re talking about, so many of the assets that we’re talking about, so many of the tax cuts that we’re talking about,” Trump said. “…I mean, I’m here because I love Iowa, but I’m here because we’re starting the campaign to win the midterms. You’ve got to win the midterms.”
First District Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Ottumwa; Second District Congresswoman Ashley Hinson, who’s running for the U.S. Senate; and Third District Congressman Zach Nunn of Ankeny have all been endorsed by Trump and each spoke to the crowd before Trump arrived. “I’m asking for your help,” Nunn said. “The third district alone is one of the most competitive districts in the country and if we don’t have this, I’m going to tell you what’s going to happen: we’re going to lose our majority.”
Iowa GOP chairman Jeff Kaufmann said President Trump’s visit to Iowa yesterday is the first of several appearances in the state before the November election. “There is no magic radio commercial, there’s no magic mailer that can come out to get the Trump MAGA voters to get out in a midterm election,” Kaufmann told Radio Iowa. “There’s really only one thing that can turn out the MAGA voters in a way that we need to and that’s Donald Trump himself.”
Several hours before Trump’s appearance, Iowa Democratic Party Chair Rita Hart told reporters Iowans are “literally paying more” because of Trump’s “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. “As far as Donald Trump…the tariffs and his policies, unfortunately those are not protecting the Americans that built these products,” Chew said.
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 said immigration officers are treating people inhumanely. “He needs to have a heart and follow the Constitution, quite frankly,” she said. “And Congress needs to act as they are supposed to, as a third equal branch of government and a check on the executive branch.”
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.