Kemp: Biden's electric vehicle push spawned a backlash

Republican Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp told POLITICO’s Governors Summit on Thursday the Biden administration’s efforts to accelerate the transition to electric vehicles have been “counterproductive” and created public resistance to the technology.

Georgia has drawn billions of dollars in investments from carmakers Hyundai and Rivian for new EV manufacturing plants in the state. But Kemp said President Joe Biden’s legislation that poured billions of dollars into EVs had exposed gaps in the infrastructure needed to support the industry and spawned a backlash against the technology.

“Most of that was not needed to drive that industry. It was already coming anyways,” Kemp said. “Along with the Biden mandates, it’s really pushed the market too quickly without charging being out there and other things. You look at the rare earth mineral markets, it’s just collapsed, it’s just a mess.”

“When the government starts mandating things and pushing people, it turns a lot of people off and that’s what’s happened a lot in the EV marketplace versus letting the product drive the market,” Kemp continued.

Criticism of the IRA: Kemp echoed the complaints of Republicans in Washington about the Biden administration’s efforts to promote the industry, saying the funding through the Inflation Reduction Act had “picked winners and losers. And he contended that the government spending under the IRA and other pieces of legislation have driven up interest rates, inflation and the deficit while doing little to build out the burgeoning industry.

Kemp, though, stopped short of offering full-throated support for a repeal of the administration’s marquee climate bill, arguing that the focus should instead be on making it “equitable for everyone, make it fair for everyone. Don’t pick winners and losers.”

Kemp’s comments come as the Biden administration is looking at a compromise regulation on vehicle emissions that would slow the pace of required emissions cuts in response to a slowdown in sales of electric and zero-emission vehicles and increased political pressure in the electorally-critical state of Michigan. Republicans, including former President Donald Trump, have pounced on President Joe Biden’s embrace of electric vehicles in recent months in the hopes of peeling away support from unionized auto workers in the important swing state.

Kemp said a slowdown in Biden targets for EV sales would also be a welcome step.

“Anything they can do to undo some of that would be helpful. I mean, the time frames they are putting out there are simply unrealistic,” he said.