California officials on Thursday filed their 26th lawsuit against the Trump administration, after the president signed resolutions overturning the Golden State’s landmark electric vehicle (EV) mandate.
“We made a promise that if the president attempted to illegally interfere with our clean air standards, we’d hold him accountable in court,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta said at a press conference announcing the lawsuit.
“Today, we are making good on that promise,” he added.
Bonta submitted the complaint in the Northern District of California together with his colleagues in Colorado, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington.
He said he filed the lawsuit moments after Trump signed three congressional resolutions, which California regulations that had aimed to phase out gas-powered cars by 2035 — and then prompted 11 other states to follow suit.
Rather than directly overturning the rules, the resolutions revoked the Biden administration’s authorization of the Golden State’s policy. This action occurred via the Congressional Review Act (CRA), which enables the repeal of recently approved regulations with a simple majority.
“We refuse to let this unprecedented and illegal use of the CRA undermine the Clean Air Act waivers that give California the authority to enforce our own mission standards,” Bonta said.
The attorney general was referring to California’s unique ability to set stronger-than-federal standards through a 1970 Clean Air Act clause, written amid historic smog conditions in the Los Angeles area. To do so, however, the Golden State must first apply to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for a waiver for each proposed rule — and only following that approval can other states adopt similar such thresholds.
The waiver targeted by Congress and the Trump administration through the CRA received the EPA’s approval in December under then-President Biden and enabled the implementation of several key California regulations.
Among the rules repealed as a result of the resolutions is California’s Advanced Clean Cars II rule, which required that 35 percent of cars sold in the state in 2026 to be zero-emissions, 68 percent in 2030 and 100 percent in 2035.
A second rule was the Golden State’s Omnibus Regulation, which sought to cut heavy-duty nitrogen oxide emissions by 90 percent, revamp engine testing procedures and further extend engine warranties.
A third was the Advanced Clean Trucks rule — a regulation that has focused on accelerating the state’s transition to less-polluting trucks and would have required 7.5 percent of these vehicles to be emissions-free by 2035.
“Trump’s all-out assault on California continues – and this time he’s destroying our clean air and America’s global competitiveness in the process,” Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) said in a statement on Thursday. “We are suing to stop this latest illegal action by a President who is a wholly-owned subsidiary of big polluters.”
Bonta, meanwhile, emphasized that no federal administration, Democrat or Republican, has ever voiced disapproval of California’s emissions waivers.
“The federal government’s actions are not only unlawful, they’re irrational and wildly partisan,” he said. “They come at the direct expense of the health and the well-being of our people, of Californians.”
Accusing Trump of adhering to a “divisive, partisan agenda” that is endangering the economy, the environment and American lives, Bonta emphasized California’s commitment to ensuring that “future generations inherit a livable planet with breathable air.”
“We don’t expect the president’s barrage of unlawful, chaotic and disruptive executive orders and actions to slow down, which means neither will our work ahead,” he added.