President Trump signed an executive order Monday in Nebraska allowing tax-free red-dyed diesel on public roads through 2026, delivering direct relief to farmers and truckers squeezed by high fuel prices.
At a midterm rally in Grand Island, Nebraska, President Donald Trump signed the order onstage after executive assistant Natalie Harp brought it forward. The measure temporarily permits red-dyed off-road diesel on highways and postpones federal excise tax payments on that fuel through the end of 2026 without interest or penalties.
Breitbart News reported the White House framed the step as immediate cost relief for the people who grow food and haul goods across the country.
Highway diesel carries state and federal excise taxes. Off-road diesel used for farming, construction, and heating has long been untaxed. That fuel is dyed red so officers can spot illegal highway use and collect back taxes and penalties. Trump’s order waives the off-road limit and lets buyers purchase the tax-free red fuel for any purpose, including highway travel.
The federal diesel tax runs 24.4 cents a gallon, about $60 on a 250-gallon fill. The White House said savings would top $100 per fill where states match the federal action. The order directs the Treasury secretary, working with the secretary of War, to defer the tax through year’s end with no interest or penalties and to explore ways to wipe out the deferred bill altogether. Federal officials are also told to coordinate fuel access and push states to follow suit.
Trump made the case in plain terms before the crowd.
"Today I’m announcing another unprecedented step to bring down costs."
He then spelled out the change.
"For many years, farm vehicles, construction equipment, and other off-road vehicles have used what is known as red dye diesel. Tonight, I’m going to sign a historic executive order to officially waive the off-road requirement and allow anyone to purchase tax-free red-dyed diesel for any reason."
Just the News covered the same announcement as Trump signed on stage in Grand Island while backing Nebraska GOP Sen. Pete Ricketts ahead of the midterms.
He turned to Ricketts and Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen and told them the order should lock in their races. “You two guys were great. You stuck with us, and we have to. Otherwise, we’re not going to have a country anymore,” he said, adding a shoutout to Iowa gubernatorial candidate Zach Lahn. Trump thanked Pillen for strong leadership on the diesel push and said few senators could have delivered what Ricketts did.
Video from the rally captured the signing in real time. Fox News showed Trump executing the order onstage and repeating that anyone could now buy the tax-free red fuel.
The move fits a broader pattern of fast executive action from this White House, including when Trump signed orders retooling federal AI branding and services in a single stroke.
White House materials tied elevated diesel prices and tight global supply to the Russia-Ukraine war, thin refining capacity worldwide, and “Democrat-led States that chose to shut down their refineries in the name of ‘Green Energy’ policies.” That is the incentive structure the order is meant to punch through: tax and regulatory choices that raise the cost of moving crops and freight, then leave farmers and truckers holding the bill.
The Washington Examiner noted the signing came at a campaign rally and was cast as a nationwide cost cut for farming and construction users before the midterms.
Diesel has been punishing users at the pump. The New York Post reported prices hit a record $6.52 a gallon last month and stood at $6.32, well above the prior year’s $3.70 average. Because diesel powers the trucks that move groceries and consumer goods, those spikes feed straight into household prices. The same account said the order is expected to save the average trucker more than $100 per fill-up and save farmers millions while pulling down grocery and goods costs.
That focus on fuel costs tracks earlier administration work, such as when Trump secured a European diesel stockpile release as U.S. prices eased from recent highs.
Vice President JD Vance praised the speed of the decision.
"Another example of President Trump acting quickly to tackle an urgent issue. In this administration, we’re fighting every day to help hard working Americans, especially our farmers."
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins welcomed the order the same day. Iowa candidate Zach Lahn wrote that he had floated the relief idea in a conversation with Vance. OANN’s Daniel Baldwin described a packed scene outside the expo center, with thousands lining the motorcade route and strong visible support for the president.
Decisive budget and policy moves have marked the term as well, from the moment Trump canceled nearly $1 billion in federal funds with a late-year rescission to other directives that cut contested spending streams.
Trump also joked about the mechanics of the signature itself, saying he would do what Joe Biden could not: sign his own name. The crowd saw the pen hit paper in public, not buried in a paper stack.
Readers following the administration’s order-writing pace will recognize the same style seen when Trump directed agencies to call AI “Super Intelligence.”
The order still needs state partners to unlock the full savings the White House advertised. Federal deferral alone removes the 24.4-cent tax through 2026; matching state action is what pushes the per-fill relief past $100. How many capitals move, and how fast, will decide how much cash stays in the tanks of the people who actually grow and haul the nation’s food.
When fuel rules punish the producers and the haulers first, the rest of the country pays at the grocery aisle. This order puts the break in their favor.