If you’d never heard of red-dyed diesel before it suddenly entered the news cycle this week, you’re not alone. Even President Donald Trump said he was unfamiliar with the fuel at a campaign rally in Grand Island, Neb., on Monday, Oct. 5. “I don’t know what the hell it is, but whatever it is, it’s supposed to be very good,” he told the crowd.
Moments later, Trump signed an executive order onstage that temporarily allows red-dyed diesel on public roads and defers the federal excise tax normally owed on highway fuel through Dec. 31. Despite Trump calling the fuel “tax-free,” the tax hasn’t gone away—at least not yet. The order directs the Treasury Department to defer payment without interest or penalties, and to explore ways to eliminate the deferred bill entirely.
