The Trump administration has filed a lawsuit against California, alleging that the state is imposing a de facto fuel economy rule that effectively mandates electric vehicles, as reported by the California Post.
The lawsuit, filed by the Department of Justice on behalf of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), argues that California is violating federal law by imposing state-specific mileage requirements on car manufacturers through its Advanced Clean Cars proposal.
Attorney General Pamela Bondi stated, "California is using unlawful policies to create exorbitant costs for their citizens. This Department of Justice is proud to stand with President Trump and Secretary Sean Duffy to bring litigation that will make life more affordable for American consumers."
A provision under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act prohibits individual states from establishing regulations related to fuel economy, but California has received exemptions dating back over a decade.
In 2022, California Governor Gavin Newsom leveraged these exemptions when the California Air Resources Board (CARB) adopted Advanced Clean Cars II, which mandated an increasing percentage of new passenger and light truck sales to be zero-emissions, reaching 100% by 2035. Former President Joe Biden's EPA granted California a waiver to enforce this rule.
Newsom also promoted other EV mandates such as Advanced Clean Trucks (ACT) and the Heavy-Duty Omnibus Law-NOx Regulation. These regulations have served as a model for more than a dozen other states aiming to surpass federal vehicle pollution standards.
Despite President Trump revoking Newsom's emission mandates through the Congressional Review Act (CRA) in June, the Advanced Clean Cars I regulations remain in effect. The Trump administration contends that these regulations effectively impose state-specific mileage requirements on car manufacturers, constituting an illegal electric vehicle mandate.
NHTSA Administrator Jonathan Morrison emphasized that the lawsuit aims to align automakers with a single federal fuel economy regulation, correcting the previous allowance for California to set its own fuel economy policies.
In response to Trump's actions, Governor Newsom signed an executive order reinforcing California's commitment to stringent emission standards and directed the California Air Resources Board to develop an Advanced Clean Cars III proposal.
The legal dispute is unfolding on two fronts — a challenge in the Ninth Circuit to overturn the CRA revocations and the DOJ lawsuit seeking to prevent California from enforcing its underlying emission rules.
US Transportation Secretary Duffy expressed support for Trump's decision to eliminate the EV mandate and criticized Newsom for persisting with what he called a "radical EV fantasy."
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