WASHINGTON, D.C. — The unofficial car czar of the Senate, Bernie Moreno, is leading the Republican charge to unwind former President Joe Biden’s climate agenda—specifically the shift to electric vehicles.

Republicans have long supported ending the $7,500 tax credit to buy an EV, established in the Inflation Reduction Act, one of Biden’s signature legislative achievements.

“The American public should be the one out there deciding, not the federal government. So that's one of those out there that should come off the table right off the bat,” said Rep. Bob Latta, R-Ohio.

Moreno also supports ending the EV tax subsidy, which cost $2 billion, on EV purchases in 2024 alone. He said he was also open to a gradual phaseout of the tax credit so that auto dealers can sell their remaining inventory.

He is also introducing the Transportation Freedom Act, a bill that would repeal the EPA’s current emissions rule that would, in effect, require two thirds of all new cars sold to be electric by 2032. Moreno said the measure would save auto makers money, ultimately driving down vehicle prices.

“My bill is about providing a consistent 10-year outlook on what the rules of the road are going to be without states like California or New York interfering in what the federal government is setting for a set of standards,” Moreno said.

Moreno also supports President Donald Trump pulling the plug on a $7.5 billion federal initiative to install 500,000 EV chargers across the country by 2030. The National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program has a goal of installing EV chargers every 50 miles on major highway corridors and in communities.

Ohio has already used funds from the program to build 19 charging stations—one third of the 57 built nationwide under the program.

Moreno said he was not against building charging stations, but that the private sector should take charge of the process.

“We want the marketplace to work,” he said. “The federal government played exactly zero role in building gas stations. It shouldn't play a role in building EV charging stations because they always get it wrong.”

For example, many of the EV chargers built with federal money use an older connector type than the current industry standard. Nearly all U.S. auto makers have announced transitions to North American Charging Standard (NACS) ports, which were originally the ports used in Tesla cars. Many EV charging stations were built to fit Combined Charging Standard (CCS) ports.

Critics said changing the country’s direction on EVs would disadvantage American automakers against global competitors.

“As long as we keep playing politics with energy and transportation, that only makes it worse,” said Matt Teske, CEO and founder of EV charging app Chargeway. “Whereas other countries throughout the world, they’re not doing that. They’re seeing this as an opportunity to grow industry, to create jobs and to have global dominance in a lot of different ways, and we’re not doing that.”

Currently 8% of auto sales in the U.S. are EVs. Though eliminating the tax credit could make sales fall in the short term, auto industry analysts said the long-term shift to EVs will continue.