Washington — A standoff has developed between U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz and the Detroit Three automakers over executives’ attendance at a planned hearing next month on vehicle affordability.
The Texas Republican last month invited the heads of Ford Motor Co., General Motors Co. and Chrysler parent company Stellantis NV to testify Jan. 14 in front of the Senate Commerce Committee. If the leaders attend, it would mark the first joint testimony of Detroit Three CEOs on Capitol Hill since late 2008 amid the global financial meltdown.
Ford, however, has led the charge in objecting to sending top brass to Capitol Hill, citing several reasons related to the hearing’s subject matter, invite list and scheduling. The panel is set to take place while the annual Detroit Auto Show — an event Ford has called “Super Bowl week for autos” — happens back in Michigan.
The situation threatens to put Ford and its crosstown competitors at the center of a public political squabble they sorely want to avoid while navigating tariffs, a changing regulatory landscape and a mangled transition to electric vehicles.
Cruz, spokesperson Phoebe Keller said, is still planning on holding the hearing with Ford CEO Jim Farley, GM CEO Mary Barra and Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa all in attendance.
Keller said “nothing’s changed” since a Politico report on Dec. 18 indicated both Ford’s outright opposition to sending Farley to Washington and the other companies’ inclination to follow Ford’s lead.
At the time of publication, the parties had not reached an agreement on how to proceed.
In addition to inviting the Detroit Three CEOs, Cruz notably invited Tesla Inc. executive Lars Moravy, who is the company’s vice president of vehicle engineering, to testify. The committee did not request the presence of CEO Elon Musk, who campaigned for Trump last year and led the White House’s cost-cutting Department of Governmental Efficiency earlier this year.
Ford calls for ‘comparable treatment’
Ford staked out its position in a Dec. 12 letter to Cruz penned by Brian Smith, an attorney for Covington & Burling LLP who is representing the Dearborn-based automaker in the matter. The company said it is standard practice to hire outside counsel ahead of congressional hearings.
“We greatly appreciate the constructive dialogue we have had with you and your staff regarding this hearing, including Mr. Farley’s recent conversation with you adjacent to the White House event on fuel economy standards. Ford remains committed to working with you and your colleagues in a cooperative manner, including in a potential hearing before the Committee,” Smith wrote.
The letter, though it did not mention Tesla by name, went on to criticize Cruz’s move to give the Texas-based EV giant different treatment.
“Ford believes that it is essential that any potential hearing adhere to Congress’s longstanding tradition of ensuring comparable treatment for similarly situated companies,” Smith wrote. “If a vice president of engineering is appropriate for the planned hearing, the other companies should have the opportunity to offer a similar witness.”
General Motors has taken a similar stance. The Detroit-based automaker, according to spokesperson Elizabeth Winter, has remained in regular contact with the committee and told staff that CEO Mary Barra will attend the hearing if the other companies’ CEOs do the same.
GM, in addition to the auto show, also has a major event planned that week with the opening of its new global headquarters at the Hudson’s Detroit building. That will not affect Barra’s potential visit to Washington, though.
Stellantis has declined to comment on whether Filosa, its CEO, will attend the Senate Commerce hearing.
Subject matter, scheduling objections
Ford raised additional concerns to Cruz in the letter, including a contention that Farley is not the best person from the company to participate in a hearing — nominally, at least — centered on the Senate’s consideration of a Surface Transportation Reauthorization bill.
“As he shared with the Senator in their recent conversation, Mr. Farley is focused on providing Americans with the cars they desire and leading Ford to compete in a highly competitive global market, and he has not been engaged in Congress’ consideration of the Surface Transportation Reauthorization,” Smith wrote.
He added: “Others in the company are better suited to testify at a hearing on these subjects.”
Surface Transportation Reauthorization bills are typically passed once every several years and lay out plans for billions of dollars worth of federal highway funds that flow to states. Those funds have limited direct impact on automakers, though past legislative vehicles for reauthorizations — like the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act — have included programs and tax credits with significant implications for the auto industry.
Such bills also authorize safety programs at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, like the agency’s Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards and the New Car Assessment Program. Ford has advocated for changes that would modernize those detailed and technical programs.
The Jan. 14 hearing will be titled “Pedal to the Policy: The Views of the American Auto Industry on the Upcoming Surface Transportation Reauthorization,” but Cruz has cast it as an opportunity to discuss auto regulations and rising average vehicle prices.
“Americans have been clear that they are hyper-focused on affordability — and so is this committee. The average price of a car has more than doubled in the past decade, driven up by onerous government-mandated technologies and radical environmental regulations,” Cruz said in a November statement announcing the hearing.
He brought up the hearing some two weeks later, on Dec. 3, during the Oval Office rollout of a proposal to slash fuel economy rules. Farley and Filosa were present and standing a few feet away from Cruz.
“Mr. President,” Cruz said to President Donald Trump, “I’ll tell you, the Senate Commerce Committee on January 14th, we’re going to have a hearing with all of the Big Three there and Tesla. And the entire hearing is going to focus on how your leadership has reduced the burdens on carmakers. That’s lowering costs, that’s giving consumers more choices, and it’s producing more jobs in America.”
The senator’s comments on affordability, an increasingly discussed issue and buzzword across U.S. politics, came as rumors have begun to swirl that he is eyeing a run for president. The Washington Post published a story on Dec. 22 about Cruz’s positioning for a 2028 White House bid.
Smith, the Ford lawyer, also noted in his letter to Cruz that Farley has obligations for the Detroit Auto Show. Jan. 14 is the show’s press day, when executives and exhibitors show off products and meet with members of the media.
The following day, there will be an invite-only event at Ford’s Michigan Central to kick off the racing division’s 2026 season, which includes a much-anticipated return to Formula 1 via a powertrain partnership with Red Bull Racing.
U.S. Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, will participate in Jan. 15 auto show events, and Ford has offered to facilitate an event that puts Farley and Cruz together at the auto show.
Smith reiterated near the end of his letter, however, that Ford’s objection to sending Farley to the hearing “is not merely an issue of scheduling, as detailed above.”
@GrantSchwab
