State sues to keep emissions waiver
California’s fight with the Trump administration over its ability to shape climate policy is headed to court — again — as the state pushes to keep its authority to set stricter auto-emissions standards.
State Attorney General Xavier Becerra, along with the attorneys general of 22 other states, filed a lawsuit Friday that seeks to block the Environmental Protection Agency from stripping parts of California’s federal waiver that allows it to create its own tailpipe rules.
“We cannot afford to backslide in our battle against climate change,” Becerra said during a press conference in Santa Barbara, overlooking the Pacific Ocean. “The Trump administration continues to side with polluters instead of protecting our families, our health.”
Becerra’s lawsuit asks the
U.S. District Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., to review whether the EPA can strip parts of California’s nearly 50yearold waiver under the Clean Air Act. The waiver was reauthorized in 2013 for vehicles made through 2025 and beyond and allows the state to set stricter emissions standards than those imposed by the federal government.
The lawsuit challenges an EPA rule change that takes
effect Nov. 26. It could also affect 13 other states that follow California’s cleancar rules.
Also Friday, Gov. Gavin Newsom opened another front in the battle over vehicle greenhouse gas emissions rules. He announced that state agencies will stop purchasing vehicles from automakers that recently sided with President Trump over the standards.
The could be a significant blow to three manufacturers, General Motors, Chrysler and Toyota, given that they all sell large numbers of vehicles in California. State agencies purchase thousands of vehicles every year.
By siding with Trump’s administration, those automakers broke ranks with some of their biggest competitors, such as Honda and Ford, who have voluntarily agreed to comply with California’s stricter emissions standards.
Trump has been seeking to undo fuel efficiency targets put into place under former President Barack Obama that required new cars and light trucks to reach roughly 50 miles per gallon by model year 2026.
“In court, and in the marketplace, California is standing up to those who put shortterm profits ahead of our health and our future,” Newsom said in a statement. “Carmakers that have chosen to be on the wrong side of history will be on the losing end of California’s buying power.”
The governor also announced that state agencies will stop buying gaspowered sedans, though his office released few details about the directive.
California has been locked in a battle with the Trump administration over its emissions standards for months. That fight erupted Sept. 18, when President Trump tweeted that he would revoke the state’s authority.
Trump argues that California’s stricter tailpipe rules could drive up the cost of vehicles and lead some drivers to hang on to older, lesssafe cars.
A spokesperson for the EPA declined to comment on the lawsuit Friday. However, it has repeatedly accused the state of trying to set climate policy for the rest of the country though greenhouse gas standards when it should be instead focused on reducing smog.
“California has the worst air quality in the United States,” EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler said in September. “We hope that the state will focus on these issues rather than trying to set fuel economy standards for the entire country.”
But California officials have argued the state’s ability to set smog and greenhouse gas standards are intertwined, and that tailpipe emissions and public health are interlinked.
California officials relied on the state’s waiver to reach its deal with four automakers on emissions under which they will increase 2026 fuelefficiency standards to closely match those set under former Obama — standards Trump is trying to repeal.
“The Trump Administration continues to weaponize federal agencies in his war against public health and clean air,” Newsom, a plaintiff in the lawsuit, said Friday. “California won’t back down — we, along with major automakers who voluntarily signed onto our framework, know that the future is clean cars.”
The lawsuit is supported by Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin.
Becerra’s effort is also backed by the District of Columbia and the cities of Los Angeles and New York.
The lawsuit is California’s second specifically targeting the move to revoke its waiver under the Clean Air Act. In September, Becerra led 22 states in filing a lawsuit challenging a related National Highway Traffic Safety Administration fuelefficiency rule change.
Becerra’s latest lawsuit also asks the District Court of Appeals to review that earlier lawsuit that the federal government has pushed to dismiss.
“California is standing up to those who put shortterm profits ahead of our health.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom