California’s 2035 ban on gas-powered vehicles took one step closer to being dismantled on Thursday.
The Senate voted to repeal the gas-powered vehicle ban, sending the final decision to President Donald Trump.
The backstory: In 2020, Newsom signed an executive order to require that all new cars sold in California by 2035 be zero-emission vehicles.
- The Environmental Protection Agency approved Newsom’s order last December through a request from the California Air Resources Board.
- The House of Representatives voted a few weeks ago to repeal the mandate and did so under the Congressional Review Act, so the Senate could circumvent the 60-vote threshold.
The big picture: The Senate passed the repeal on a 51-44 vote, picking up support from one Democrat: Elissa Slotkin from Michigan.
- Along with the zero-emission vehicle mandate, the Senate also approved two other resolutions that get rid of regulations on emissions for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles.
The other side: Newsom and California Attorney General Rob Bonta decried the Senate’s vote on Thursday, saying they will file a lawsuit to block it.
- They argued that the repeal will “Make America Smoggy Again,” displaying a sign with that slogan at a press conference following the vote.
- They argued that the Senate broke the law by using the Congressional Review Act.
What they’re saying: “This Senate vote is illegal,” Newsom said. “Republicans went around their own parliamentarian to defy decades of precedent. 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.”
- Bonta said Senate Republicans are bending the knee to Trump once again with the vote.
- “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,” Bonta said. “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.”
- California Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher (R–Yuba City) applauded the vote, saying it sends a clear message to Newsom and the state government that has prioritized political optics over practical reality.
- “The Senate just staged an intervention. Let’s be honest, California needed it,” Gallagher said. “Newsom’s gas car ban was never about the planet. It was about control. You like your car? Too bad. Can’t afford a new one? Sucks for you. Grid overloaded? Not his problem. This wasn’t climate policy. It was punishment for not living like an activist. The rest of the country finally said no thanks. California doesn’t get to hijack the car market with one guy’s ego trip. Assembly Republicans will keep dragging this lunacy into the sunlight. The freedom to choose what you drive shouldn’t depend on Gavin’s ambitions,” concluded Gallagher.”
