(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump has decided to appeal a federal court ruling that jeopardized the U.S. government’s ability to widely exempt refineries from requirements to use renewable fuels.

The decision follows an intense pressure campaign by oil-state senators, including Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican. The plan was described by four people familiar with the matter who asked for anonymity before a formal announcement.

The appeal plan would mark a reversal for the White House, where top officials as recently as a week and a half ago had planned to accept the ruling and apply it nationwide. That approach would have meant just a handful of U.S. refineries -- no more than seven -- would be eligible for the exemptions.

Previous Trump administration decisions on biofuel policy have been upended amid fierce lobbying.

But this move would be a victory for oil companies and their allies on Capitol Hill, who argued the waivers are essential to preserve the economic health of refineries and blue-collar jobs at the facilities. They have raised the specter of layoffs and plant closures in Wyoming, Texas and the political battleground state of Pennsylvania -- warning the White House in recent days that if the administration backed down, there could be repercussions for the president on Election Day in November.

At issue is a January decision by a three-judge panel of the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver invalidating waivers exempting three refineries from requirements compelling the use of corn-based ethanol and soybean-based biodiesel.

The judges said the federal law mandating biofuel limits waivers to situations involving “extensions” and pointed out that none of the three refineries at issue had “consistently received an exemption” in previous years.

The Trump administration has until the end of Monday to appeal the ruling en banc -- asking the full 10th Circuit to consider the case. Even without the administration joining in, refiners involved in the case are expected to seek a rehearing.

The decision is a blow to producers of corn-based ethanol and soybean-based biodiesel, who have complained the Trump administration too freely handed out the waivers and undermined a 15-year-old federal law mandating the use of those plant-based alternatives. They have also warned Trump of political fallout in largely rural states, such as Iowa.

To contact the reporters on this story: Jennifer A. Dlouhy in Washington at jdlouhy1@bloomberg.net;Mario Parker in Washington at mparker22@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Jon Morgan at jmorgan97@bloomberg.net, John Harney

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