President Donald Trump’s showdown with California is expanding from immigration enforcement to environmental protection with a plan to sign three measures passed recently by Congress repealing state auto rules aimed at curbing vehicle emissions.
Trump is taking aim during the June 12 White House event at California’s environmental regulations during the same week that he tangled with the state’s Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, over sending troops to help police protests in Los Angeles that turned violent.
Trump deployed California National Guard and U.S. Marines to L.A. over Newsom’s objections, prompting the governor to warn he’s acting like a “dictator.” The state filed a federal lawsuit seeking to block the move that’s heading for court arguments later June 12.
Newsom also has pledged to sue over Trump’s moves to rollback California environmental rules.
Trump is signing resolutions of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act to bar California’s landmark plan to end the sale of gasoline-only vehicles by 2035, which has been adopted by 11 other states and representing a third of the U.S. auto market.
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Trump will sign one resolution June 12 to repeal a waiver granted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under former Democratic President Joe Biden in December, allowing California to mandate that at least 80% of vehicles be electric vehicles by 2035.
Trump will also sign a resolution approved by Congress to rescind the EPA’s 2023 approval of California’s plans to require a rising number of zero-emission heavy-duty trucks, and another resolution on California’s regulation to curb smog-forming air pollution from heavy-duty highway and off-road vehicles and engines.
Since 1970, California has received more than 100 waivers under the Clean Air Act to address pollution caused by its unique geographic terrain and abundance of automobiles in the nation’s most populous state. The Golden State in recent years has also been at the forefront in trying to transition to vehicles that don’t produce greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to warming global temperatures.
Last year was not only the hottest since record-keeping began in 1850 but was also the first to pass a threshold meant to limit the worst effects of climate change, the Copernicus Climate Change Service said.
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Trump promoted Tesla’s electric vehicles at the White House recently as the company’s founder, Elon Musk, was being criticized for his work leading the Department of Government Efficiency and Tesla sales plummeted. Musk and Trump recently engaged in a high-profile public spat, which the president blamed on his push to repeal electric vehicle incentives. Musk later said he regretted some of his attacks on Trump.
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Trump campaigned against electric vehicle mandates and has worked to unwind Biden’s support for the industry.
Legislation passed by the U.S. House of Representatives in May would end a $7,500 tax credit for new EVs, impose a new $250 annual fee on EVs for road repair costs and repeal vehicle emissions rules designed to prod automakers into building more EVs. It would also phase out EV battery production tax credits in 2028.
Contributing: Reuters, Dinah Voyles Pulver, Doyle Rice, Elizabeth Weise, Ramon Padilla
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump’s battle with Newsom, California grows beyond immigration
