Source: POLITICO'S MORNING AGRICULTURE, 5/1/18

Ethanol producers and their allies in Congress are furious over a report that a small refinery owned by billionaire Carl Icahn, a former adviser to President Donald Trump, has been granted an economic hardship exemption from the Renewable Fuel Standard, as reported by Reuters today. Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley lambasted EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt for violating Trump's promise to preserve ethanol blending volumes. "He's also breaking his own promise he made to me and several other senators to support the spirit of the law. Hundreds of millions - and in some cases billions - of dollars in profits isn't my definition of 'hardship,'" Grassley said in a statement. 

Ethanol producers were equally irate: "Carl Icahn interviewed Scott Pruitt for the job, and now Icahn stands to make millions more from a secret EPA handout," Emily Skor, CEO of ethanol producers group Growth Energy, said in a statement. 
Small Refiners defend Pruitt: "The Small Refiners Coalition supports EPA Administrator Pruitt's defense of small refinery hardship waivers and concurs with his opinion that denying hardship relief would violate the Clean Air Act," the group said in a statement.