A new analysis from the America First Policy Institute (AFPI) reveals that the Biden-Harris administration’s electric vehicle (EV) policy could have devastating consequences for the US auto industry, potentially eliminating 123,000 domestic manufacturing jobs. Furthermore, a more radical proposal pushed by Vice President Kamala Harris could lead to even more severe job losses, particularly in Rust Belt states.
The AFPI analysis, released on Monday, warns that the administration’s current EV rules could “wipe out 123,000 auto manufacturing jobs.” The rules, introduced in 2024, aim to phase out gas-powered vehicles, requiring that the majority of new cars sold in the US be EVs or hybrids by 2032.
However, Harris’s own proposal, outlined during her 2019 presidential campaign, goes even further, calling for an outright ban on the sale of new gas-powered vehicles by 2035. According to the AFPI, this plan would lead to a staggering 191,000 job losses, with Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana being among the hardest hit. Michigan would lose approximately 37,000 jobs, Ohio would lose 21,000, and Indiana would lose 24,000.
The analysis has sparked outrage among Republicans, with Michigan Republican U.S. candidate Mike Rogers slamming the electric vehicle mandate and Harris’s proposal at a press conference on Monday. Rogers, who is running against Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) for Sen. Debbie Stabenow’s (D-MI) seat, expressed his concerns about the impact on autoworkers in Michigan.
“These factory jobs are critical to our economy and to families,” Rogers said. “You start thinking about what that does to our community here. It will ripple through our economy in a way we have never seen in our history because we are knowingly putting our foot on the necks of Michigan autoworkers.”
Rogers cited the AFPI’s analysis, warning that the Biden-Harris-Slotkin agenda” would lead to 200,000 manufacturing auto jobs disappearing.
