The Senate voted 51-44 to block California’s plan to end the sale of gasoline-only vehicles by 2035 as part of the state’s push to reach zero emissions.
The U.S. House of Representatives previously voted in support of the effort to repeal waivers issued by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that allowed California to implement a phase-out plan.
The Alliance for Automotive Innovation celebrated the vote, with CEO John Bozzella saying, “These EV sales mandates never could have been achieved. In reality, to meet the mandates it would be necessary to divert finite capital away from the EV Transition in order for Tesla compliance credits.”
California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) plans to sue over the matter.
“Republicans went around their own parliamentarian to defy decades of precedent,” said Newsom. “We won’t stand by as Trump Republicans make America smoggy again — undoing work that goes back to the days of Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan — all while ceding our economic future to China. We’re going to fight this unconstitutional attack on California in court.”
“With these votes, Senate Republicans are bending the knee to President Trump once again,” said Attorney General Rob Bonta. “The weaponization of the Congressional Review Act to attack California’s waivers is just another part of the continuous, partisan campaign against California’s efforts to protect the public and the planet from harmful pollution. As we have said before, this reckless misuse of the Congressional Review Act is unlawful, and California will not stand idly by. We need to hold the line on strong emissions standards and keep the waivers in place, and we will sue to defend California’s waivers.”
