Republicans in the Trump administration and Congress are preparing unusual legislative operations to eliminate one of the nation's most ambitious climate policies. This is an order designed to move the automotive industry to electric vehicles.
They plan to vote by 2035 to overturn California's ban on the sale of new gasoline-powered vehicles in that state.
But the California ban is not federal regulations, it's a different animal. It is the result of a waiver granted by the Biden administration under the Clean Air Act of 1970, and has been done more than 100 times over the years by the administration of both parties. According to a 2023 decision by the Government Accountability Bureau, it will not be subject to parliamentary review.
Environmental groups and California officials say Republican plans to kill immunity in a Congressional vote are illegal.
The Democrat, who frequently sparred with Trump during his first term as president and promoted his state as an environmental leader, declined to comment. His office introduced the question to the California Air Resources Board, the state's air pollution regulator.
Board spokesman David Clegarn said in a statement: “The Trump EPA has done that it has not been running an EPA under a Democrat or Republican administration within 50 years, and what GAO has confirmed is not in compliance with the law.”
The Clean Air Act specifies that California can establish clean air standards that are stricter than those set by the federal government. Because historically, it has the most polluted air in the country. Federal law also allows other states to adopt California standards as their own standards under certain circumstances. The California exemption has never been presented to Congress to vote.
As the fifth largest economy in the world, California has a significant market impact. Eleven other states have stated that they will follow California's lead and ban the sale of new gas-powered vehicles by 2035.
So Republicans argue that California has set a de facto national policy that should be reviewed by Congress. The Trump administration, which denies climate change and wants to increase the production and use of fossil fuels, has targeted California's exemptions as the best target.
Trump has signed executive orders, introduced policies to promote fossil fuels at a fast pace, and frequently packed barrels through guardrails. “We called it part of a pattern of patterns that involve this administration that wants to destroy something,” said Anne Carlson, a professor of environmental law at the University of California in Los Angeles.
But Scott Segal, a partner at Bracewell, a law firm representing fossil fuel companies, said it was “completely appropriate” for Congress to weigh it, given that many other states adopt California standards.
“The California demand is that they are allowed to regulate and regulate in a way that drags many other states into the country,” Segal said. “It's a market setting and insidious regulation.”
Environmental Protection Agency administrator Lee Zeldin was able to withdraw the exemption. But that requires months of announcements and comments.
Instead, Zeldin submitted the motor vehicle exemption to Congress last week, along with two other California exemptions approved by the EPA last year. One should limit all new heavy-duty vehicles sold in the state by 2035 to electricity, while the other should limit nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter contamination from cars and trucks. He called them “a very important action that has a huge impact and cost across the US.”
“Americans struggle to achieve their goals while dealing with rules that deprive them of their ability to choose safe and affordable vehicles for their families,” Zeldin said.
California used exemptions to suppress soot nitrogen, nitrogen dioxide and ozone that cause asthma and lung disease. The state is also deploying to curb greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, which are the main causes of global warming. Gas-powered vehicles and other forms of transport are the largest source of carbon dioxide produced by the United States.
The state is taking in electric vehicles and leading the country. In 2023, electric vehicles accounted for more than 30% of car registrations in the San Francisco Bay Area, according to S&P Global Mobility, which provides data analytics to the automotive industry. In Los Angeles, that number was close to 25%. Last year, California sold two million zero-emission vehicles.
Republicans say the simple act of submitting the exemption to Congress is entitled to repeal under the Congressional Review Act.
Amit Naran, a consultant for a group of nonprofits known as the Coalition of Wise Protective Measures, said actions by the Republican Party could use Congressional Review Act to revoke any kind of decision, such as allowing oil and gas leases, allowing a company merger or Medicaid exemption. “If they do this, that means there are no more restrictions,” Naran said.
Starting Wednesday, Republican leaders in Congress are also planning to use the law to withdraw seven other climate and environmental regulations approved by the Biden administration. Among these rules is that it limits the amount of methane that oil and gas companies can release and charges a fine if that amount is exceeded. Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas.
The methane regulations mandated as part of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act require large energy producers to pay $900 for every methane emissions that exceed the limit. Prices will rise to $1,200 in 2025 and $1,500 per tonne in 2026. The Trump administration has already told EPA employees not to enforce methane rules, according to several people familiar with the directive who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Republicans are expected to erase regulations banning certain natural gas water heaters, impose environmental standards on equipment used in certain drilling conditions, and limit emissions from rubber tire manufacturers.
