A group of eleven other states and Washington, D.C., have plans to replicate California’s gas-powered car regulations.
The Biden administration is allowing California and eleven other states to impose a gas-powered car ban by 2035 and to move forward with an electric vehicle mandate, a move that could set up a legal battle with the incoming Trump administration if it decides to revoke the regulations.
The Environmental Protection Agency announced Wednesday it granted California’s waiver request to implement a regulatory package designed to scale down the use of gas-powered cars and facilitate an increase in the number of electric vehicles on the market.
The Clean Air Act allows California to request waivers to be exempted from a provision preventing states from adopting motor vehicle emissions standards. The EPA must grant the waiver for California to enforce its own rules. A group of eleven other states and Washington, D.C., have plans to replicate California’s gas-powered car regulations.
“California has longstanding authority to request waivers from EPA to protect its residents from dangerous air pollution coming from mobile sources like cars and trucks,” EPA administrator Michael Regan said. “Today’s actions follow through on EPA’s commitment to partner with states to reduce emissions and act on the threat of climate change.”
President-elect Donald Trump has criticized California’s automotive regulations and the state’s plan to shift to electric vehicles.
“California has imposed the most ridiculous car regulations anywhere in the world, with mandates to move to all electric cars,” Trump said last year in a speech to Golden State Republicans.
He campaigned against the Biden administration’s electric vehicle mandate this cycle on his way to winning Michigan, a swing state with an economy heavily dependent on the auto industry. Multiple Michigan polls showed disdain for the electric vehicle mandate, prompting Democrats to distance themselves from the Biden administration’s EV agenda.
The Biden White House has sought to expand the electric vehicle industry with subsidies, investments, and regulations geared towards incentivizing EV purchases and substantial investments from automakers. Nonetheless, consumer demand for the novel cars has stalled and automakers have struggled to turn a profit on massive investments in expanding their EV fleets.
“This is yet another example of the EPA and California imposing costly, unworkable mandates that will hurt working families and small businesses nationwide,” American Energy Institute CEO Jason Isaac told National Review.
“By granting these waivers, the EPA is enabling California to dictate vehicle standards for the entire country, driving up costs for consumers while prioritizing an extreme agenda over economic reality. Americans deserve policies that reflect their needs—not those of unelected bureaucrats and activists.”
Trump’s EPA administrator pick, former Representative Lee Zeldin (R., N.Y.), has promised to cut red tape on day one and to unleash American energy. The previous Trump administration fought with California over the progressive state’s attempt to combat its deregulatory efforts, a contest that will likely enter its second round once Trump takes office next month.
“Although much litigation will ensue, California will never be able to ban the sale of gas-powered cars and automakers will never survive only making EVs. Americans want choice in automobiles. It’s one reason that President Trump was re-elected. This waiver from the Biden administration is just a desperate and futile last blast from a sinking ship,” said Steve Milloy, a former Trump EPA transition team member.
California governor Gavin Newsom praised the Biden administration’s decision to grant the waiver and took the opportunity to attack Trump for opposing it, an unsurprising move as Newsom positions himself at the vanguard of Democrats’s anti-Trump resistance.
“Clean cars are here to stay. The Biden-Harris Administration reaffirmed what we’ve known for decades – California can rise to the challenge of protecting our people by cleaning our air and cutting pollution,” Newsom said.
“Naysayers like President-elect Trump would prefer to side with the oil industry over consumers and American automakers, but California will continue fostering new innovations in the market.”