This vote should worry anyone who values freedom. On Thursday, fifty-seven Republicans crossed the aisle to side with Democrats and preserve a Biden-era mandate that could allow the federal government to shut down your car.

The House rejected an amendment from Rep. Thomas Massie that would have rolled back requirements tied to a so-called kill switch aimed at impaired drivers. The amendment failed 164 to 268 and would have been added to a massive funding bill covering defense, transportation, housing, and health agencies. That broader package passed 341 to 88.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis did not hold back. “The idea that the federal government would require auto manufacturers to equip cars with a ‘kill switch’ that can be controlled by the government is something you’d expect in Orwell’s 1984,” DeSantis said in a post to X.

Rep. Keith Self also sounded the alarm. “Unbelievably disturbing,” Self wrote. “57 House Republicans just joined almost all the Democrats to ensure the government can shut off your car whenever it wants.”

The roots of this fight trace back to the Biden-era Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which directed the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to develop technology that would “passively monitor the performance of a driver of a motor vehicle … and prevent or limit motor vehicle operation if impairment is detected.”

NHTSA says it is still working on the rule and admits challenges in separating drunk driving from drowsy or distracted behavior. Massie says that is beside the point. “The looming Orwellian automobile kill switch deadline threatens civil liberties,” he warned. “When your car shuts down because it doesn’t approve of your driving, how will you appeal your roadside conviction?”

From my point of view, this is a bright red line. Americans do not need Washington riding shotgun. Freedom should not come with an off switch.

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