A federal appeals court ordered the Energy Department on Tuesday to take a do-over on President Biden’s attempt to regulate gas stoves, saying the government botched the rollout by using an abbreviated process that only applies to uncontroversial policies.
The gas stove changes were anything but that, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled.
Instead, Judge Andrew S. Oldham wrote, the Biden approach seemed designed to “make home appliances more expensive and less useful.”
He said the administration used the abbreviated process — what’s known as the Direct Final Rule — to override legitimate objections from GOP-led states about the new stove regulations.
But Judge Oldham said given the clearly touchy issues at stake, the Energy Department should have used the regular process, with full notice and comment from the public.
“The previous administration’s gas-stove measures were among its most controversial energy proposals. The idea that all that controversy could be elided using the DFR — a mechanism designed for consensus rulemaking — is untenable,” wrote Judge Oldham, a Trump appointee to the court.
He granted the GOP states’ request that the Biden rule be set aside, and he ordered the Energy Department to take a mulligan if it wanted to try again.
Given the change in administrations, it’s unlikely the Trump team would attempt that.
But the Trump administration did oppose the states in court, arguing that they didn’t have standing to sue.
Judge Oldham was joined by Judge James Ho, another Trump pick. Judge Catharina Haynes, a George W. Bush appointee, partially sided with them, saying she would have simply remanded the issue back to the Energy Department.
Judge Oldham said the Energy Department does have authority over ranges and cooktops, but it cannot short-change the usual notice-and-comment process in wielding its power.
The Trump administration had defended the rule in court, saying the issue wasn’t ripe for the courts and the GOP-led states lacked legal standing to sue.
All of the judges rejected that argument, saying the case was properly before the appeals court.
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill, one of those who fought the Biden rule, praised the judges for moving to “protect consumers from Washington bureaucrats’ overreach.”
“Joe Biden’s attack on consumers had no boundaries, proposing massive regulations on home appliances like stoves and ovens that would make them more expensive and less useful. The Fifth Circuit got this right,” she said.
The attack on gas stoves proved to be a bad look for the Biden administration.
Richard Trumka Jr., son of the former AFL-CIO chief and a Biden pick to sit on the Consumer Product Safety Commission, raised the idea of banning gas stoves in December 2022.
He said the CPSC was beginning “what could be a long journey toward regulating gas stoves.” He said an outright ban was “a real possibility.”
Gas stoves became a target for environmental activists who said burning natural gas hindered efforts to combat climate change.
And the American Public Health Association declared gas stove emissions a “public health concern,” saying exposure to nitrogen dioxide from gas stoves could boost respiratory problems, particularly in children.
But the popularity of gas stoves, which allow for fast and precise cooking, became an immediate roadblock for the Biden administration.
After Mr. Trumka’s comments, the Biden administration backpedaled, saying there was no gas ban in the works.
A year later, the Energy Department released its direct final rule with new limits on energy consumption.
Compliance was to begin Jan. 31, 2028.
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