California officials say they will sue the Trump administration over federal legislation seeking to undo the state's vehicle emission rules, which are stricter than the federal government's.
The lawsuit, the
The bill is a direct attack on Gov. Gavin Newsom's executive order of 2020, which required the California Air Resources Board to develop regulations to
"The president's focus on red team versus blue team is threatening Californian's lives, our economy, and our environment," said California Attorney General Rob Bonta in a press briefing. "It's undoubtedly shortsighted, and it's illegal."
The announcement came Thursday after the U.S. Senate approved the Congressional Review Act measure on a 51-44 vote. The measure, which had already cleared the House, allows the repeal of recently approved regulations with a simple majority.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-South Dakota, moved ahead to a vote despite a ruling from the Senate parliamentarian, who concluded the act could not be used to repeal the Biden administration's decision, because it was a waiver rather than a regulation.
"This Senate vote is illegal," Newsom said. "Republicans went around their own parliamentarian to defy decades of precedent."
California has received waivers from the federal Environmental Protection Agency dating back to the 1960s allowing the state to pass emission laws more stringent than the rest of the country, Newsom said. The U.S. EPA has granted California more than 100 waivers for its clean air and climate efforts since the Clean Air Act was passed in 1970, he said.
"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," Newsom said.
Newsom emphasized in his remarks that laws to reduce pollution had been bipartisan historically. He noted that former Republican presidents Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon both supported strengthening laws reducing air pollution, while they were California governors, as well as during their presidencies.
"We have for over 50 years developed tailpipe standards that are bipartisan," said Yana Garcia, California's EPA secretary. "We have developed rules and regulations ahead of the federal government; and we are deeply proud of our nation-leading work."
Although California air standards have dramatically improved air quality, the state still has the notorious distinction of having five of the 10 cities with the worst air pollution nationally, said Liane Randolph, chair of the California Air Resources Board.
Ten million Californians in the San Joaquin Valley and Los Angeles basins live in severe nonattainment conditions for ozone and have unusually high rates of asthma and cardiopulmonary disease, Randolph said.
Greenhouse gas emissions have fallen 20% in the state since 2000, according to the governor's office.
"This is a big day for big oil, and for China, but it is a bad day for our kids and for clean air," Newsom said.
The Trump administration threatens the nation's ability to compete against China to be a leader in EV manufacturing and adoption, Newsom said.
