Sen. Lamar Alexander has a new ride. As of Monday morning, the Tennessee Republican could be seen cruising around in a Nissan Leaf. Alexander is leasing the environmentally friendly electric car from a dealership in Alcoa, Tenn.

“Plugging in my new Leaf will give me the patriotic pleasure of not sending money overseas to people who are trying to blow us up,” Alexander says. “If enough Americans bought electric cars and trucks, that would be the single best way to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, and the best way to avoid $4-a-gallon gas.”

Alexander first test-drove the Leaf on Capitol Hill back in September. Prior to leasing the new car, Alexander had a Toyota Prius that he had converted into a plug-in electric car.

Alexander has long been a proponent of electric cars. Last Congress he co-sponsored the Promoting Electric Vehicles Act of 2010, and he plans to introduce similar legislation in the 112th Congress.