(Image Credit: IMAGN) An electric car charges at an EV charging station in Oklahoma City, Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024.
Washington D.C. – A Republican effort to swiftly overturn California’s landmark ban on the sale of new gas-powered vehicles by 2035 has hit a major roadblock, after the Senate ruled Friday that the state’s emissions waiver cannot be repealed through an expedited Congressional process.
The decision deals a blow to Trump-era efforts to dismantle California’s aggressive climate policies, which include transitioning the state’s auto market entirely to zero-emissions vehicles. California’s policy was made possible by a Clean Air Act waiver granted by the Biden administration in 2022, allowing the state to implement stricter vehicle emissions standards than those set by the federal government.
Senate Democrats Alex Padilla, Adam Schiff, and Sheldon Whitehouse announced the ruling, calling it a win for climate action and California’s long-standing authority to combat air pollution. “This latest stunt from Trump’s E.P.A. was a clearly bogus attempt to undercut California’s climate leadership, and it failed,” Padilla said.
The waiver, which also enables more stringent rules on heavy-duty truck emissions and particulate matter, had been targeted by Republican lawmakers using the Congressional Review Act (CRA), which allows for recently adopted federal regulations to be overturned by a simple majority. But the parliamentarian determined the waiver is not subject to the CRA.
Republicans argued that California’s outsized economic influence effectively created a de facto national policy. Eleven other states have pledged to adopt the 2035 ban, representing nearly half of the U.S. auto market.
Governor Gavin Newsom praised the decision. “We’re glad to see the Senate reject the Trump Administration’s unprecedented effort to bend the law,” he said. “California will continue to lead the world in clean vehicle innovation.”
Despite the setback, Republican lawmakers have introduced House resolutions to overturn the waiver, though time is running out. Some conservatives, like Thomas Pyle of the American Energy Alliance, urged Republicans to press forward regardless of the parliamentarian’s guidance.
