WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump signed a resolution on Thursday that blocks California’s first-in-the-nation rule banning the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035.
The state quickly quickly announced it will challenge the move in court, with California’s attorney general holding a news conference to discuss the planned lawsuit before Trump’s signing ceremony ended at the White House.
The resolution was approved by Congress last month and aims to quash the country’s most aggressive attempt to phase out gas-powered cars. Trump also signed measures to overturn state policies curbing tailpipe emissions in certain vehicles and smog-forming nitrogen oxide pollution from trucks.
Trump called California’s regulations “crazy” at a White House ceremony where he signed the resolutions.
“It’s been a disaster for this country,” he said.
It comes as the Republican president is mired in a clash with California’s Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, over Trump’s move to deploy troops to Los Angeles in response to immigration protests. It’s the latest in an ongoing battle between the Trump administration and heavily Democratic California over issues including tariffs, the rights of LGBTQ+ youth and funding for electric vehicle chargers.
The state is already involved in more than two-dozen lawsuits challenging Trump administration actions, and the state’s Democratic Attorney General Rob Bonta announced the latest one at a news conference in California. “The federal government’s actions are not only unlawful; they’re irrational and wildly partisan,” Bonta said. “They come at the direct expense of the health and the well-being of our people.”
Senator Tony Strickland (R-Huntington Beach) issued a statement after the signing: “Today’s decision by the President of the United States to repeal the governor’s rigid ban on gas-powered vehicles is a step in the right direction. This strict government mandate causes major obstacles, including adding strain on our aging energy infrastructure and driving up the costs of living – not everyone can afford a $60,000 new EV along with the electricity costs that come with it.”
The three resolutions Trump signed will block California’s rule phasing out gas-powered cars and end the sale of new ones by 2035. They will also kill rules that phase out the sale of medium- and heavy-duty diesel vehicles and cut tailpipe emissions from trucks.
In his remarks at the White House, Trump expressed doubts about the performance and reliability of electric vehicles, though he had some notably positive comments about the company owned by Elon Musk, despite their fractured relationship.
“I like Tesla,” Trump said.
In remarks that often meandered away from the subject at hand, Trump used the East Room ceremony to also muse on windmills, which he claimed “are killing our country,” the prospect of getting electrocuted by an electric-powered boat if it sank and whether he’d risk a shark attack by jumping as the boat went down.
“I’ll take electrocution every single day,” the president said.
When it comes to cars, Trump said he likes combustion engines but for those that prefer otherwise, “If you want to buy electric, you can buy electric.”
