Trump signed a congressional resolution that overturns a California state rule that would have phased out the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035.
The California rule and the decision to revoke it are a massive deal for the auto market.
The state makes up about 12 percent of the U.S. population. Its rule has also been adopted by 11 other states and Washington, D.C.
California says its rule would benefit both public health and the environment, reducing emissions that contribute to global warming and the amount of pollution its residents are exposed to. The state estimates its rule would prevent nearly 1,300 cardiopulmonary deaths between 2026 and 2040.
Trump on Thursday also signed resolutions that overturned separate California rules requiring most new trucks sold in the state to also be electric.
The Biden administration approved California’s rule late last year, and that Biden-era approval is what is actually being revoked.
The Congressional Review Act (CRA) gives Congress, with presidential approval, the right to rescind recently passed regulations.
But the Government Accountability Office, a nonpartisan congressional watchdog, and the Senate parliamentarian both determined that the Biden-era approval was a waiver rather than a rule, and therefore the CRA does not apply.
The House voted to rescind the waiver regardless, and the Senate took procedural steps to sidestep those determinations by first voting on a “point of order” as to whether waivers could be overturned by the CRA.
The decision comes with tensions at an all time high between California and the Trump administration after the president sent in the military over Los Angeles protests against his immigration policies.
Read more at TheHill.com.
