Trump signs resolutions repealing California’s EV mandate, which many other states had adopted

President Donald Trump on Thursday signed three resolutions that repeal waivers the Biden-Harris Administration’s EPA granted to California allowing it to ban the sale of gas-powered cars, engines and big rigs by 2035. 

“We officially rescued the U.S. auto industry from destruction by terminating California’s electric vehicle mandate,” Trump said in the White House signing ceremony, according to CNBC. 

The waivers allowed California to set vehicle emission standards more stringent than the federal government. Because 11 states and the District of Columbia have adopted California’s regulations, and because manufacturers understand that California is the largest market for new cars by far, experts say California’s EV mandate would have functioned as a national EV mandate. 

“National policy should not be dictated by individual states or un-elected bureaucrats. It was unconscionable that the previous administration ever allowed such a thing to happen,” Tom Pyle, president of the American Energy Alliance said in a statement. 

The House and Senate passed the resolutions under the Congressional Review Act (CRA), which allows Congress to block finalized federal regulations.