April 07, 2026 09:30 AM UTC

Gabe Evans: Gas Guzzlers Will Solve The Energy Crisis?!

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• by: Colorado Pols

As the war against Iran rages on with no apparent end date or exit strategy, the price of gas for American consumers has passed well over $4 a gallon and continues to increase–slightly lower here in the nation’s 4th largest oil producing state, but expected to increase as the lag time between the price of crude oil and refined gasoline catches up. The skyrocketing cost of gas due to Donald Trump’s “war of choice” in Iran has once again completely upended the Republican case for delivering affordability to consumers ahead of the midterm elections in November.

Responding to this self-induced political nightmare, America’s Most Vulnerable Incumbent™ Rep. Gabe Evans has attempted to deflect blame from Trump’s war on Iran to local Democratic energy regulations, despite the fact that oil production in Colorado has strongly rebounded from pandemic lows. Having planted his “as a veteran” stamp of approval on the war in Iran, Evans can’t be honest with voters about its biggest impact on their daily lives.

And yesterday, Evans doubled down on his out-of-touch message on energy affordability, signing on to a letter with a pack of fellow Republicans in support of Trump’s proposal to slash the CAFE fuel economy standards:

I joined my colleagues in supporting the Department of Transportation’s proposal to reset Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards.

The previous standards effectively pushed a one-size-fits-all approach that limited consumer choice and drove up vehicle costs. This proposal restores balance by setting achievable targets, removing unfair credit systems, and ensuring manufacturers can meet standards without being forced into a single technology.

This is about putting Americans back in control — lowering costs, expanding options, and making sure families can choose the vehicles that work best for them…

Reading this, you might ask yourself, “How will reducing vehicle mileage standards bring down costs for American consumers?” The answer, as Reuters reported last December when the reduction plan was first announced, is that it won’t:

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Environmental Protection Agency last Wednesday proposed cutting the fuel economy requirements for cars to 34.5 miles per gallon on average by 2031, down from the 50.4 miles per gallon (21.4 km per liter) set by former President Joe Biden.

As a result, automakers would save $35 billion through 2031 and average upfront vehicle costs would decline by about $930, assuming the automakers pass along the savings, according to NHTSA’s economic analysis in support of the proposal.

But NHTSA’s same economic analysis also said the proposal would raise fuel consumption by around 100 billion gallons through 2050 relative to the Biden standard, costing Americans up to $185 billion. [Pols emphasis]

In short, if this proposal is finalized, automakers who have been jacking up the price of new vehicles to outrageous levels for years might cut you a small break on the reduced R&D costs resulting from not improving fuel economy. But that possible price cut is offset by higher fuel costs over the lifetime of the vehicle. Maybe that’s a proposition that sounds okay with gas is $1.80 a gallon like Evans was celebrating back in December.

With gas prices scraping $4 a gallon and climbing, cheaping out on fuel economy is the definition of penny-wise and pound-foolish. Publicizing this singularly out-of-touch position at this moment when consumers are suffering is just another politically inexplicable head-scratcher from a freshman member of Congress who doesn’t seem to realize how vulnerable he is–or what these plainly mercenary positions look like to the voters he needs to win over to keep his job.

To us, it increasingly looks like Gabe Evans is auditioning for his next job rather than defending his seat in Congress.

If there’s a better explanation for being this out of touch, we have a comments section.