California Will Sue Federal Government Over Emissions Waiver Repeal

Back in March 2022, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reinstated the right for California to set its own emissions standards, shortly after President Donald Trump took action to strip it beforehand. This past December, the EPA granted the state that right, paving the way for California to enact its plan to ban the sale of pure ICE vehicles by 2035. However the U.S. Senate voted to revoke the ability for California to set an EV mandate and its own independent emissions rules just this past week, but as many expected, the state is now pursuing legal action over that decision.

According to Politico, California Attorney General Rob Bonta has said that the state will sue the Trump administration in an effort to retain its ability to set its own emissions rules, and added that the lawsuit will be filed after Trump signs off on Congress’ vote to revoke that privilege – marking the 23^rd lawsuit filed by Bonta against the President this year thus far. “The federal government’s overreach is illogical,” Bonta said in a press conference. “It’s politically motivated, and it comes at the expense of Californians’ lives and livelihoods.”

Lawmakers are leaning on what’s known as the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to execute this move, though there have been plenty of questions regarding whether or not they have a legal right to do so. Regardless, the Ford-backed lobby group known as the Alliance for Automotive Innovation (AAI) has thus far supported the current administration’s efforts to roll back EV mandates and emissions standards in general, calling them untenable and unrealistic.

“I think the fact that the Senate parliamentarian, the Government Accountability Office, have all rejected this approach, this reliance on the Congressional Review Act, that the Congressional Review Act has never been used for this purpose ever in 30 years, and that Clean Air Act waivers have been given over the 55-year duration of the statute by both Republican and Democratic administrations, and never been challenged in this way, probably tells you all you need to know,” Bonta added. “We believe in our case. We saw this coming.”