Trump Administration Sues California Over EV Rules

The Trump administration filed a lawsuit on Thursday against California, challenging the state's strict vehicle emissions regulations as a violation of federal law that effectively mandates a shift to electric vehicles. The suit, brought by the Department of Justice on behalf of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and lodged in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California, targets rules enforced by the California Air Resources Board that require an increasing percentage of new passenger vehicles sold in the state to be zero-emission models.

At the heart of the dispute are California's Advanced Clean Cars regulations, first adopted in 2012 and expanded in 2022 under Governor Gavin Newsom. These standards mandate that 35 percent of new 2026 model year cars sold in California be zero-emission vehicles, rising to 100 percent by the 2035 model year. The rules aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from passenger cars and light trucks by 34 percent by 2025 compared to 2016 levels and by 27 percent overall by 2035. Federal officials argue that these requirements function as a de facto fuel economy mandate, preempted by the Energy Policy and...