Zombie waiver walking
Presented by
With help from Camille von Kaenel, Nicole Norman and Jordain Carney
WAIVING GOODBYE: Senate Republicans are about to kill California's vehicle emissions rules, and state officials are going back to the drawing board.
Democrats' threats of future retribution for overruling the Senate parliamentarian didn't stop Senate Majority Leader John Thune from teeing up votes Tuesday to roll back California's zero-emission sales mandates for cars and heavy-duty trucks, ending a monthslong game of 'will he, won't he' that kept the automotive world on edge.
Next come the inevitable lawsuits once President Donald Trump signs the resolutions. Attorney General Rob Bonta has been ready for this since at least March. 'We don't think it's an appropriate use of the Congressional Review Act, and we're prepared to defend ourselves if it's wrongfully weaponized,' he told us back then.
California leaders are still thinking about what to do after that.
Lindsay Buckley, a spokesperson for the California Air Resources Board, said the agency isn't deterred by an impending vote that 'does not change CARB's authority,' which includes a federal requirement to reduce pollution levels that are among the highest in the nation.
'CARB will continue its mission to protect the public health of Californians impacted by harmful air pollution,' she said in a statement.
But losing the power to dictate automakers' sales targets is undoubtedly a knee-capping of a major tool in the state's climate policy kit. And CARB hasn't detailed what exactly its next steps will look like.
Former CARB Chair Mary Nichols said state and local governments still have multiple options at their disposal that don't require federal approval, including electrification incentives and taxes on fossil fuels reforms that push residents and businesses to invest in EVs.
Craig Segall, a former CARB executive director, said there's also nothing stopping the agency from starting to develop new emissions rules that would be approved by a future Democratic administration.
He said the demise of the EV sales mandates could actually have a silver lining for clean transportation advocates by forcing California, which risks losing federal highway funding if it doesn't reduce pollution, to rethink its strategy and invest more into alternatives like public transit.
'What this opens up, I hope, is the conversation more broadly around what is our transport decarbonization strategy,' Segall said.
California's loss this round could also reopen the window for state officials to negotiate with automakers. That's what happened after Trump's EPA undid an earlier EV waiver during his first term. And while California now has less leverage, car companies already have an incentive to build EVs for growing markets in Asia and Europe.
'What [automakers] wanted was some relief on the sales mandate; they wanted to stop buying credits from Tesla,' Nichols said. 'But when it comes to the types of cars that they're making, those decisions are made years in advance.'
But the odds of that sort of deal materializing quickly aren't looking great. The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which represents major automakers, didn't immediately respond to requests for comment on the impending Senate vote, but the group has lobbied lawmakers for months to kill the waivers.
Worse for California is that Stellantis, which had previously aligned itself with state officials, isn't running to defend the rules. The world's fifth-largest automaker, which owns brands like Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge, inked a deal with California last year to follow the state's EV sales targets even if the mandate goes away, but directed questions to the Auto Alliance when asked about Thune's move Tuesday.
Newsom used the moment to take a jab at Trump, who's made China the top target of his trade war, and accuse the Senate of ceding the car industry to America's biggest economic competitor. Chinese automaker BYD surpassed Tesla as the biggest EV producer last year, marking the first time Elon Musk's company didn't hold the top spot.
'Will you side with China or America?' he asked in a statement. — AN
Did someone forward you this newsletter? Sign up here!
ABOUT THOSE THREATS: Sen. Alex Padilla — speaking to POLITICO ahead of Senate Democrats' pleas from the floor Tuesday afternoon to spare the waiver — talked about his attempt to hold up EPA nominations in protest of the CRA maneuver and Democrats' vows to inflict payback.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Republicans seem to think you're bluffing. Is your party actually willing to play hardball, and do you have targets in mind for when Democrats are in power?
What goes around, comes around. If they do this and set a new precedent, then you better believe when the majority shifts again, Democrats will not be shy, will not hold back on combing through a whole lot of other agency decisions for the same treatment.
What is objecting to four EPA nominees really going to do? What more will your party do to make Republicans feel pain for their decision, and is leadership willing to take those steps?
We had a long, late meeting [Monday] night in Sen. [Chuck] Schumer's office with a number of Senate Democrats with a twofold agenda. No. 1: What else can we do here at this late stage in the game? What Hail Marys do we have in the back pocket to try to keep this from happening? But No. 2: Starting to think, if the Republicans go through with this and are successful, then what are our next steps?
What was the discussion like? Were there any targets that stood out immediately in your discussion with the leadership and other Democrats?
There's a growing list of potential CRAs that we may bring, and we don't have to wait until we're back in the majority to bring them. There are some CRAs that we would likely bring in the coming weeks, months, if Republicans go through with this.
You advocated for ending the filibuster in 2021 to pass voting rights legislation. Is your concern now politically expedient?
At least when we were debating and taking a vote on abolishing the filibuster specifically for voting rights, we said that's what we were doing. Republicans today are on the verge of this nuclear option, but they're in denial about the filibuster precedent that they're about to set. — AN
DELTA WARS: Stae Sen. Jerry McNerney is laying down the gauntlet against Newsom's budget proposal to fast-track the controversial Delta tunnel.
McNerney said Tuesday he has the votes to defeat Newsom's bid last week to speed up the permitting for a tunnel underneath the state's main water delivery hub, the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, if it came to that.
McNerney said his next move is convincing Senate President Pro Tem Mike McGuire and other legislative leadership to take his side — though he acknowledged they may be reluctant to go against Newsom, who sees the tunnel as a key climate adaptation project he wants to get permitted before he leaves office.
'People don't like to cross the governor, and this is very important to him, apparently,' said McNerney.
Newsom spokesperson Tara Gallegos said, 'Today's press conference demonstrated why this fast track is necessary, as it is clear that misinformation will continue to delay and obfuscate this critical project.' — NN, CvK
DIRTY WATER UNDER THE BRIDGE: Don't blink or you'll miss it, but a California Democrat is thanking the Trump administration for an effort to protect the environment.
Rep. Scott Peters of San Diego thanked U.S. EPA administrator Lee Zeldin in a congressional hearing Tuesday for his attention to the San Diego region's problems with raw sewage flowing across the international border from Mexico, closing beaches and polluting military training sites. Zeldin seized on the issue this spring, including by touring San Diego last month and pressing Mexico to do more to stop the pollution.
There's at least one concrete result so far: The U.S. EPA and the International Border and Water Commission announced Tuesday they are planning to speed up a planned expansion of the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant along the Tijuana River, finishing a first phase of the project in 100 days instead of the originally scheduled two years. — CvK
I'VE GOT MY EYE ON YOU: Speaking of rules that don't have a waiver: The California Air Resources Board settled a lawsuit against their zero-emission truck purchasing rule for fleets last week, signaling their commitment to repealing the regulations that they started walking back in January, right before Trump took office.
CARB reached an agreement with the Specialty Equipment Market Association — which sued over the rule last year — to repeal requirements under the Advanced Clean Fleets regulation that larger fleets and those serving ports phase out purchases of diesel trucks.
The case will be suspended until CARB follows through with their end of the deal.
'This is a necessary agreement,' said Karen Bailey-Chapman, the senior vice president for public and government affairs at SEMA. 'This agreement brings closure to California's attempted overreach beyond its borders and the seriousness of the implications to our nation's system of interstate commerce.'
CARB did not immediately respond to a request for comment. — NN
BACK TO THE LAND: Newsom on Tuesday named Sacramento attorney Matthew Read to serve as chief counsel in his Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation (formerly Office of Planning and Research). Read previously worked at the pollution-awareness group Breathe California, for the Strategic Growth Council and in the office of Sacramento City Councilmember Steve Hansen.
— State Farm is asking for an 11 percent rate hike for next year — on top of the 17 percent emergency rate hike Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara approved last week.
— Nichols, the former CARB chair, says to look at what subnational governments are doing on forests.
— The dairy industry is touting its expected avoidance this year of 5 million metric tons of methane, two-thirds of the way to its state-set goal of reducing livestock methane emissions 40 percent below 2013 levels by 2030.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
29 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump aides want Texas to redraw its congressional maps to boost the GOP. What would that mean?
This coverage is made possible through Votebeat, a nonpartisan news organization covering local election administration and voting access. Sign up for Votebeat Texas' free newsletters here. Republicans representing Texas in Congress are considering this week whether to push their state Legislature to take the unusual step of redrawing district lines to shore up the GOP's advantage in the U.S. House. But the contours of the plan, including whether Gov. Greg Abbott would call a special session of the Legislature to redraw the maps, remain largely uncertain. The idea is being driven by President Donald Trump's political advisers, who want to draw up new maps that would give Republicans a better chance to flip seats currently held by Democrats, according to two GOP congressional aides familiar with the matter. That proposal, which would involve shifting GOP voters from safely red districts into neighboring blue ones, is aimed at safeguarding Republicans' thin majority in Congress, where they control the lower chamber, 220-212. The redistricting proposal, and the Trump team's role in pushing it, was first reported by The New York Times Monday. Without a Republican majority in Congress, Trump's legislative agenda would likely stall, and the president could face investigations from newly empowered Democratic committee chairs intent on scrutinizing the White House. Here's what we know about the plan so far: On Capitol Hill, members of the Texas GOP delegation huddled Monday night to discuss the prospect of reshaping their districts. Most of the 25-member group expressed reluctance about the idea, citing concerns about jeopardizing their districts in next year's midterms if the new maps overextended the GOP's advantage, according to the two GOP aides, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the private deliberations. Rep. Jodey Arrington, R-Lubbock, was skeptical of the idea. 'We just recently worked on the new maps,' Arrington told The Texas Tribune. To reopen the process, he said, 'there'd have to be a significant benefit to our state.' The delegation has yet to be presented with mockups of new maps, two aides said. Each state's political maps must be redrawn once a decade, after each round of the U.S. census, to account for population growth and ensure every congressional and legislative district has roughly the same number of people. Texas lawmakers last overhauled their district lines in 2021. There's no federal law that prohibits states from redrawing district maps midcycle, said Justin Levitt, an election law professor at Loyola Marymount University and a former deputy assistant attorney general in the Department of Justice's civil rights division. Laws around the timing to redraw congressional and state district maps vary by state. In Texas, the state constitution doesn't specify timing, so the redrawing of maps is left to the discretion of the governor and the Legislature. Lawmakers gaveled out of their 140-day regular session last week, meaning they would need to be called back for a special session to change the state's political maps. Abbott has the sole authority to order overtime sessions and decide what lawmakers are allowed to consider. A trial is underway in El Paso in a long-running challenge to the state legislative and congressional district maps Texas drew after the 2020 U.S. Census. If Texas redraws its congressional maps, state officials would then ask the court to toss the claims challenging those districts 'that no longer exist,' Levitt said. The portion of the case over the state legislative district maps would continue. If the judge agrees, then both parties would have to file new legal claims for the updated maps. It isn't clear how much maps could change, but voters could find themselves in new districts, and Levitt said redrawing the lines in the middle of the redistricting cycle is a bad idea. 'If the people of Texas think that their representatives have done a bad job, then when the [district] lines change, they're not voting on those representatives anymore,' Levitt said. 'New people are voting on those representatives.' The National Democratic Redistricting Committee, Democrats' national arm for contesting state GOP mapmaking, said the proposal to expand Republicans' stronghold in Texas was 'yet another example of Trump trying to suppress votes in order to hold onto power.' 'Texas's congressional map is already being sued for violating the Voting Rights Act because it diminishes the voting power of the state's fast-growing Latino population,' John Bisognano, president of the NDRC said. 'To draw an even more extreme gerrymander would only assure that the barrage of legal challenges against Texas will continue.' When Republicans in charge of the Legislature redrew the district lines after the 2020 census, they focused on reinforcing their political support in districts already controlled by the GOP. This redistricting proposal would likely take a different approach. As things stand, Republicans hold 25 of the state's 38 congressional seats. Democrats hold 12 seats and are expected to regain control of Texas' one vacant seat in a special election this fall. Most of Texas' GOP-controlled districts lean heavily Republican: In last year's election, 24 of those 25 seats were carried by a Republican victor who received at least 60% of the vote or ran unopposed. The exception was U.S. Rep. Monica De La Cruz, R-Edinburg, who captured 57% of the vote and won by a comfortable 14-point margin. With little competition to speak of, The Times reported, Trump's political advisers believe at least some of those districts could bear the loss of GOP voters who would be reshuffled into neighboring, Democratic-held districts — giving Republican hopefuls a better chance to flip those seats from blue to red. The party in control of the White House frequently loses seats during midterm cycles, and Trump's team is likely looking to offset potential GOP losses in other states and improve the odds of holding on to a narrow House majority. Incumbent Republicans, though, don't love the idea of sacrificing a comfortable race in a safe district for the possibility of picking up a few seats, according to GOP aides. In 2003, after Texas Republicans initially left it up to the courts to draw new lines following the 2000 census, then-U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, a Sugar Land Republican, embarked instead on a bold course of action to consolidate GOP power in the state. He, along with his Republican allies, redrew the lines as the opening salvo to a multistate redistricting plan aimed at accumulating power for his party in states across the country. Enraged by the power play, Democrats fled the state, depriving the Texas House of the quorum it needed to function. The rebels eventually relented under threat of arrest, a rare power in the Texas Constitution used to compel absent members back to return to Austin when the Legislature is in session. The lines were then redrawn, cementing the GOP majority the delegation has enjoyed in Washington for the past two decades. However, what's at play this time is different than in the early 2000s, when Republicans had a newfound majority in the Legislature and had a number of vulnerable Democratic incumbents they could pick off. Now, Republicans have been entrenched in the majority for decades and will have to answer the question of whether there's really more to gain, said Kareem Crayton, the vice president of the Brennan Center for Justice's Washington office. 'That's the tradeoff. You can do that too much so that you actually make them so competitive that the other side wins,' Crayton said. 'That's always a danger.' Texas Republicans are planning to reconvene Thursday to continue discussing the plan, according to Rep. Beth Van Duyne, R-Irving, and Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Houston, who said they will attend the meeting. Members of Trump's political team are also expected to attend, according to Hunt and two GOP congressional aides familiar with the matter. Natalia Contreras is a reporter for Votebeat in partnership with the Texas Tribune. She's based in Corpus Christi. Contact Natalia at ncontreras@ Disclosure: New York Times has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here. Big news: 20 more speakers join the TribFest lineup! New additions include Margaret Spellings, former U.S. secretary of education and CEO of the Bipartisan Policy Center; Michael Curry, former presiding bishop and primate of The Episcopal Church; Beto O'Rourke, former U.S. Representative, D-El Paso; Joe Lonsdale, entrepreneur, founder and managing partner at 8VC; and Katie Phang, journalist and trial lawyer. Get tickets. TribFest 2025 is presented by JPMorganChase.
Yahoo
34 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Musk regrets some of his Trump criticisms, says they 'went too far'
Musk regrets some of his Trump criticisms, says they 'went too far' Elon Musk, the world's richest person and Donald Trump's former advisor, says he regretted some of his recent criticisms of the US president (Kevin Dietsch) (Kevin Dietsch/GETTY IMAGESvia AFP) Elon Musk, the world's richest person and Donald Trump's former advisor, said Wednesday he regretted some of his recent criticisms of the US president, after the pair's public falling-out last week. "I regret some of my posts about President @realDonaldTrump last week. They went too far," Musk wrote on his social media platform X, in a message that was received favorably by the White House. Musk's expression of regret came just days after Trump threatened the tech billionaire with "serious consequences" if he sought to punish Republicans who vote for a controversial spending bill. Their blistering break-up -- largely carried out on social media before a riveted public since Thursday last week -- was ignited by Musk's harsh criticism of Trump's so-called "big, beautiful" spending bill, which is currently before Congress. ADVERTISEMENT Some lawmakers who were against the bill had called on Musk -- one of the Republican Party's biggest financial backers in last year's presidential election -- to fund primary challenges against Republicans who voted for the legislation. "He'll have to pay very serious consequences if he does that," Trump, who also branded Musk "disrespectful," told NBC News on Saturday, without specifying what those consequences would be. Trump also said he had "no" desire to repair his relationship with the South African-born Tesla and SpaceX chief, and that he has "no intention of speaking to him." But after Musk's expression of regret, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that Trump was "appreciative," adding that "no efforts" had been made on a threat by Trump to end some of Musk's government contracts. "The president acknowledged the statement that Elon put out this morning, and he is appreciative of it," Leavitt said. ADVERTISEMENT According to the New York Times, Musk's message followed a phone call to Trump late on Monday night. Vice President JD Vance and Chief of Staff Susan Wiles had also been working with Musk on how to broker a truce with Trump, the report said. - 'Wish him well' - In his post on Wednesday, Musk did not specify which of his criticisms of Trump had gone "too far." The former allies had seemed to have cut ties amicably about two weeks ago, with Trump giving Musk a glowing send-off as he left his cost-cutting role at the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). But their relationship cracked within days, with Musk describing the spending bill as an "abomination" that, if passed by Congress, could define Trump's second term in office. Trump hit back at Musk's comments in an Oval Office diatribe and from there the row detonated, leaving Washington stunned. ADVERTISEMENT Trump later said on his Truth Social platform that cutting billions of dollars in subsidies and contracts to Musk's companies would be the "easiest way" to save the US government money. US media have put the value of the contracts at $18 billion. With real political and economic risks to their falling out, both already appeared to inch back from the brink on Friday, with Trump telling reporters "I just wish him well," and Musk responding on X: "Likewise." Trump had spoken to NBC on Saturday after Musk deleted one of the explosive allegations he had made during their fallout, linking the president with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, who was accused of sex trafficking. bur-arp/aha
San Francisco Chronicle
34 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Missouri approves stadium aid for Kansas City Chiefs and Royals and disaster relief for St. Louis
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri lawmakers on Wednesday approved hundreds of millions of dollars of financial aid to try to persuade the Kansas City Chiefs and Royals to remain in the state and help the St. Louis area recover from a devastating tornado. House passage sends the legislative package to Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe, who called lawmakers into special session with a plea for urgent action. Kehoe is expected to sign the measures into law. Missouri's session paired two otherwise unrelated national trends — a movement for new taxpayer-funded sports stadiums and a reevaluation of states' roles in natural disasters as President Donald Trump's administration reassess federal aid programs. The stadium subsidies already were a top concern in Missouri when a deadly tornado struck St. Louis on May 16, causing an estimated $1.6 billion of damage a day after lawmakers had wrapped up work in their annual regular session. The disaster relief had widespread support. Lawmakers listened attentively on Wednesday as Democratic state Rep. Kimberly-Ann Collins described with a cracking voice how she witnessed the tornado rip the roof off her house and damage her St. Louis neighborhood. Collins said she has no home insurance, slept in her car for days and has accepted food from others. 'Homes are crumbled and leveled,' said Collins, adding: 'It hurts me to my core to see the families that have worked so hard, the businesses that have worked so hard, to see them ripped apart.' Lawmakers approved $100 million of open-ended aid for St. Louis and $25 million for emergency housing assistance in any areas covered under requests for presidential disaster declarations. They also authorized a $5,000 income tax credit to offset insurance policy deductibles for homeowners and renters hit by this year's storms — a provision that state budget director Dan Haug said could eventually cost up to $600 million. The Chiefs and Royals currently play football and baseball in side-by-side stadiums in Jackson County, Missouri, under leases that expire in January 2031. Jackson County voters last year defeated a sales tax extension that would have helped finance an $800 million renovation of the Chiefs' Arrowhead Stadium and a $2 billion ballpark district for the Royals in downtown Kansas City. That prompted lawmakers in neighboring Kansas last year to authorize bonds for up to 70% of the cost of new stadiums in Kansas to lure the teams to their state. The Royals have bought a mortgage for property in Kansas, though the team also has continued to pursue other possible sites in Missouri. The Kansas offer is scheduled to expire June 30, creating urgency for Missouri to approve a counter-offer. Missouri's legislation authorizes bonds covering up to 50% of the cost of new or renovated stadiums, plus up to $50 million of tax credits for each stadium and unspecified aid from local governments. If they choose to stay in Missouri, the Chiefs plan a $1.15 billion renovation of Arrowhead Stadium. Though they have no specific plans in the works, the St. Louis Cardinals also would be eligible for stadium aid if they undertake a project of at least $500 million. Many economists contend public funding for stadiums isn't worth it, because sports tend to divert discretionary spending away from other forms of entertainment rather than generate new income. But supporters said Missouri stands to lose millions of dollars of tax revenue if Kansas City's most prominent professional sports teams move to Kansas. They said Missouri's reputation also would take a hit, particularly if it loses the Chiefs, which have won three of the past six Super Bowls. 'We have the chance to maybe save what is the symbol of this state,' Rep. Jim Murphy, a Republican from St. Louis County, said while illustrating cross-state support for the measure. The legislation faced some bipartisan pushback from those who described it as a subsidy for wealthy sports team owners. Others raised concerns that a property tax break for homeowners, which was added in the Senate to gain votes, violates the state constitution by providing different levels of tax relief in various counties while excluding others entirely.
