Trump Moves To Kill California's EV Mandate

Forbes

a day ago

US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump are greeted by California Governor Gavin ... More Newsom upon arrival at Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, California, on January 24, 2025, to visit the region devastated by the Palisades and Eaton fires. (Photo by Mandel NGAN / AFP) (Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)
President Donald Trump will reportedly move on Thursday to revoke the state of California's waiver under the Clean Air Act which serves as the foundation for its electric vehicles targets. The President will sign a series of three resolutions passed under the Congressional Review Act (CRA) in April and May which would remove the state's ability to enforce its mandates on both passenger cars and heavy trucks, which Trump and other opponents refer to as California's EV mandate.
The resolutions target the California Air Resources Board's (CARB) Advanced Clean Cars II program, Advanced Clean Trucks rules, and heavy-duty diesel engine standards. Together, those programs invoke incentives and escalating penalties designed to force buyers to abandon traditional internal combustion cars and replace them with either EVs or other cars that qualify as zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs).
California's aggressive targets under the program call for 35% adoption of ZEVs by 2026, 68% by 2030, and 100% by 2035. But the state is already woefully behind the needed pace of adoption. The California government itself reports that, as of the end of 2024, just 6% of the light-duty cars on the road would qualify under the mandate.
Trump and other Republicans who support the CRA resolutions contend that, because a dozen additional states have laws that require them to follow California's lead on Clean Air Act-related regulations, the California program amounts to a national issue. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), who authored one of the resolutions, frames the issue as a defense of consumer choice, telling Politico, 'These mandates force Americans into vehicles they don't want or can't afford, all while ignoring the realities of our grid and supply chains.'
The American Petroleum Institute weighed in in support of the CRA resolutions, presenting estimates that EV mandates could cost carmakers and consumers billions while straining supply chains for battery minerals like lithium and cobalt. 'California's unlawful ban should never have been authorized, and Governor Newsom should never have been allowed to seize this much control over the American vehicle market,' API President Mike Sommers said in a statement, adding, "Consumers of all political stripes oppose gas car bans, EV mandates and allowing California to dictate transportation policy for the rest of the country.'
California Attorney General Rob Bonta promised to sue the Trump administration, saying in a statement, 'California won't let Washington roll back decades of progress. Our standards save lives and protect our planet.' Bonta argues that the use of the CRA to revoke the waivers, which were issued by the Biden EPA in 2023, is unprecedented and legally dubious.
Los Angeles, CA - March 21: California Attorney General Rob Bonta speaks at a press conference ... More discussing antitrust legal action against Apple on Thursday, March 21, 2024 in Los Angeles, CA. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
The latter point is an argument that will be up to the courts to decide. EPA's waiver authority under the Clean Air Act was upheld in 2024 by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, and the U.S. Supreme Court is currently reviewing that ruling. But the courts have not yet had an opportunity to weigh in on the question raised by Bonta about the propriety of congress invoking the CRA to revoke such a waiver.
Backing California's position, Sierra Club spokesperson Katherine Garcia warned that the rollbacks 'will choke communities with smog and worsen climate disasters.' At the same time, though, she helped beef up the administration's contention that this is indeed a national issue that justifies action by the federal government. 'This isn't just about California,' Garcia said. 'It's about the 80 million Americans in states following our lead.'
Trump's move comes as another blow to a U.S. electric vehicles industry already struggling to maintain momentum amid stagnant consumer demand, uncertainty around import tariffs, and persistent supply chain issues. A report published May 31 by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed battery electric vehicle sales dropping significantly during 2025, adding that the 'decrease in electric vehicle sales was driven by declining sales of battery electric models such as the Honda Prologue, Chevrolet Equinox, and Tesla Model Y.'
EIA Chart Depicting Quarterly U.S. Light Duty Vehicle Sales by Powertrain (1Q15-1Q25)
As seen in the chart above, the same EIA report also shows sales of plug-in hybrid models stalling even as sales of hybrid electric cars skyrockets. The latter statistic should improve the mood of Ford Motor Co. CEO Jim Farley, who last year revised his company's strategy to focus less on battery electric vehicles in favor of a move to hybrid electric models.
This move by President Trump to revoke California's EPA waiver and kill its aggressive EV mandate program is a snug fit into his overall strategic shift related to energy and climate policy. Trump and his advisors are likely little bothered by Bonta's litigation threat, as they've become accustomed to having pretty much every policy move they take challenged in federal district court as part of the Democratic Party's continuing lawfare tactics.
Bonta may or may not be able to convince a federal judge issue an injunction preventing Trump from enforcing the resolutions, but the administration has established a pretty strong winning percentage on such matters at the appellate and Supreme Court levels. Regardless of the ultimate outcome of any litigation, though, market realities have already placed the state so far behind the pace needed to meet its EV mandate that any hopes of achieving full elimination of internal combustion cars by 2035 or any other year seems like just another green fantasy.