REMEMBER, THESE ARE THE PEOPLE WHO THINK THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE IS UNDEMOCRATIC: EPA steamrolls auto industry to rush out new regs.

The Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday rejected an auto industry request to extend the review period for strict new vehicle regulations, allowing them to go into effect before President Obama leaves office.

“The EPA continues to believe that the [decision] and the associated 30-day comment period remain appropriate and, therefore, the EPA is denying both the request for withdrawal and the request for an extension of the comment period,” Janet McCabe, the EPA’s air pollution chief, wrote in a letter to the top trade group for the automakers,the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers.

The auto industry requested last month that the EPA extend the review period for an agency study that determined the new rules for improving fuel efficiency and lowering carbon emissions be extended into the next year.

The agency had surprised the industry last month by saying it was planning on finalizing its determination this year, instead of doing so next year as the law requires.

Pen and phone.