On Thursday, President Donald Trump fired his biggest shot yet in his war on California’s ambitious electric vehicle plans. He personally signed three congressional resolutions on the White House lawn to roll back those initiatives. Together, the agency’s resolutions provide a glimpse into the state’s aggressive agenda to end diesel engines. They want to phase out the sale of gas-powered cars by 2035. Trump described California’s electric vehicle mandate as “a disaster for this country,” emphasizing the need to protect the U.S. auto industry.
The signing event will be live streamed beginning at 11 a.m. ET. It points to a deepening and alarming trend to test the limits of California’s stringent environmental laws. Trump’s administration has faced pressure from major automotive manufacturers, including General Motors and Toyota, who have actively lobbied against the state’s electric vehicle rules. These firms claim that the demanding standards make manufacturing operations cumbersome and wouldn’t allow for the manufacturing of several vehicle models quickly and easily.
Trump’s statements during the signing highlighted his administration’s intent to provide relief to the automotive industry. He remarked, “We officially rescue the U.S. auto industry from destruction by terminating California’s electric vehicle mandate.” This statement is consistent with the overarching Republican Party line of putting economic interests before environmental protection regulations.
California Governor Gavin Newsom has been one of their most vocal opponents, and has condemned these resolutions as dangerous regressions to environmental progress. In May, he blasted the feds over their response. He claimed that the inflationary big polluters have gamed the political landscape to tank state-level efforts. Newsom has stated, “Big polluters and the right-wing propaganda machine have succeeded in buying off the Republican Party.”
California’s EV blueprint has received the nod from 11 other states, and counting. This trend is indicative of a larger, nationwide, bipartisan consensus toward advancing stricter environmental standards. Trump’s resolutions aim at the destruction of this terrible framework. He would like to go back to weaker measures that we know favor the automotive industry’s interests.
As President Trump signed the resolutions, he addressed viewers, stating, “Please refresh the page if you do not see a player above at that time.” His testimony was an important reminder about the administration’s messaging approach to selling this radical new paradigm of U.S. automotive policy.