SAN FRANCISCO - AUGUST 25: San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom talks with reporters before test driving a plug-in version of the popular Toyota Prius that is one of four on loan to the city for evaluation August 25, 2010 in San Francisco, California. With sales of electric and plug-in hybrid cars expected to increase in the coming years, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District has set aside $5 million to increase the number of electric car charging stations to 5,000 around the Bay Area. There are currently 120 stations in the area. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Sacramento, California – In a pointed response to President Donald Trump’s efforts to weaken California’s clean vehicle standards, Governor Gavin Newsom signed a sweeping executive order Wednesday recommitting the state to its ambitious zero-emission goals. The move arrives on the same day California filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, challenging the legality of federal attempts to strip the state of its authority to regulate vehicle emissions.
At the center of the dispute is California’s long-held ability to set its own air quality rules, a power granted under the Clean Air Act and used for decades to curb pollution in a state where geography and population density have made clean air a persistent challenge. Trump’s rollback—via a Congressional resolution critics say is legally dubious—seeks to undo those gains.
Newsom’s order, while largely procedural, signals the beginning of what could be a prolonged legal and regulatory fight over the state’s role in the national transition to electric vehicles. Among other measures, the executive action initiates the development of a new phase in California’s Advanced Clean Cars program, instructs state agencies to align vehicle purchases with manufacturers who follow the state’s rules, and fast-tracks recommendations on how to accelerate the shift to zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs).
“We won’t let this illegal action by Trump and Republicans in the pockets of polluters stand in the way,” Newsom said Wednesday. “We’re going to protect our kids, clean our air, and keep competing globally.”
The announcement comes amid what the governor’s office has described as a broader “war on California” by the Trump administration—including threats to withhold federal funding and deploy military forces to Los Angeles. It also follows the formation of a multi-state coalition committed to preserving the momentum on clean transportation, with 10 other states joining California in a unified front.
Despite decades of progress, five of the ten cities with the worst air pollution in the U.S. remain in California. In places like the San Joaquin Valley and the Los Angeles basin, millions still breathe air that fails to meet federal health standards. Studies link such chronic exposure to elevated risks of asthma, heart disease, and cancer.
If the federal rollback stands, state officials warn the health impacts could cost Californians an estimated $45 billion. By contrast, the current clean car standards are projected to provide $91 billion in economic and health benefits by 2040.
With one in four new cars sold in California now electric and more than 25,000 megawatts of clean energy added to the grid since 2019, the state is betting that clean air and economic growth can go hand in hand—even as Washington charts a different course.
