In a driving rainstorm that became a metaphor for the storm embattled refiners face in Washington, a bipartisan lineup of politicians and labor and business leaders called upon workers to pressure Trump to reconfigure the market for ethanol fuel credits, which they say has been hijacked by big oil interests and “Wall Street sharpies.”

“The people gathered today represent the manufacturing jobs that President Trump and Congress talk so much about preserving,” said Jeff Warmann, chief executive of Monroe Energy, which is owned by Delta Air Lines. “These are good jobs.”

“This is manufacturing,” said U.S. Rep. Patrick Meehan (R., Pa.). “You don’t have to bring it back. It’s here today. We just have to keep it.”

The rally was organized by the Fueling American Jobs Coalition headed by the refiners, which has been fighting an uphill battle in Washington to rework the Renewable Fuel Standard. The RFS requires blending biofuel, principally ethanol, into motor fuels.

The coalition is trying to redefine its message so that it does not appear opposed to the RFS, which has strong legislative support in farming states, where most of the corn ethanol is produced. Rather, they want the administration to reconfigure who is responsible for shouldering the cost of biofuel credits called RINs, or Renewable Identification Numbers.

“This is not a fight against biofuels,” said Warmann, who said Monroe Energy spends $500,000 a day for RINs, or more money per year than the $150 million Delta Air Lines spent in 2012 to buy the refinery.


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