Trump to Kill California’s EV Rules

President Donald Trump plans to sign a trio of resolutions Thursday to revoke California’s nation-leading vehicle emissions standards.

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), author of a resolution to nix the state’s electric vehicle sales mandate via the Congressional Review Act, and Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-Calif.) confirmed that the White House has scheduled the signings at 11 a.m. on Thursday.

Trump’s signature will finalize his administration’s months-long effort to thwart California’s authority to set stricter electrification rules for passenger vehicles and commercial trucks, along with higher standards for heavy-duty diesel engines.

Republican lawmakers promised to quickly roll back Biden-era EPA waivers that give California the power to enforce its rules after Administrator Lee Zeldin announced in February that his agency had sent them for review. That move opened a window of 60 days in session for Congress to vote on resolutions and avoid the Senate filibuster.

But Senate sign-off on the maneuver stretched until last month, just days before the CRA deadline, as Senate Majority Leader John Thune and moderate Republicans debated internally over whether to overrule Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough, who — along with the Government Accountability Office — told lawmakers the waivers were not subject to CRA.

Trump’s EPA revoked an earlier version of California’s vehicle emissions rules through an 18-month regulatory process during his first term, but Republicans’ vote last month to expedite the rollback through Congress marked the first time waiver approvals have been considered subject to CRA since President Bill Clinton signed the law in 1996.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta has promised to fight the decision, saying last month that he plans to sue once Trump signs the resolutions.

Daniel Villaseñor, a spokesperson for California Gov. Gavin Newsom, said the state is ready to defend its rules.

“If it’s a day ending in Y, it’s another day of Trump’s war on California. We’re fighting back,” Villaseñor said in a statement.

California has maintained a unique ability among states to set stricter-than-federal air quality standards since President Richard Nixon signed the Clean Air Act in 1970. State officials and environmental groups argue the carveout is necessary to combat the region’s worst-in-the-nation smog, and the authority has underpinned its climate and environmental protection goals.

The revocations would also impact a dozen other blue states that have adopted the rules, though some, including Maryland and Vermont, had moved to delay implementation.

Republicans and industry groups argue that the waivers constitute a nationwide electric vehicle mandate because of California’s market and the fact that other states do not need EPA approval to follow them.

Congressional Democrats have framed the decision to overrule the parliamentarian as akin to destroying the filibuster and have promised to use CRA in the future to undermine Republican priorities, like oil and gas leases, not previously considered reviewable.