A U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rule to allow sales of higher-ethanol blends of gasoline year-round is being delayed by a partial government shutdown, acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler said on Wednesday. The rule, a key campaign promise by President Donald Trump to farmers, an important constituency, was announced in October and would aim to expand the market for corn-based ethanol. Speaking at his Senate confirmation hearing, Wheeler, Trump’s nominee to head the agency on a permanent basis, said the EPA was unable to work on the rule at the moment because of the shutdown. “Originally we were planning on issuing the rule in February … We haven’t been shut down as long as the other departments but we may be slightly delayed […]