Republicans Just Killed California’s E.V. Mandate. Will They Regret It?
As the House of Representatives has been debating its one big, beautiful bill this week, the Senate has been considering a contentious vote of its own.
On Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R–S.D.) said that the Senate would move forward with a vote over three Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolutions—a law that allows Congress to overturn federal rules with a simple majority—to rescind air pollution regulations in California.Â
Under the Clean Air Act, states are not allowed to set their own vehicle air pollution standards, except California, which must request a waiver from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) before implementing new rules. While states can’t set their own rules, they are allowed to adopt California’s and, as of 2025, 17 states and the District of Columbia have done so.Â
In the final days of the Biden administration, the EPA granted California exemptions for a rule that requires 100 percent of car sales in the state to come from zero-emission vehicles by 2035 and two others that set strict emissions standards for heavy-duty vehicles.Â
On Thursday, the Senate voted 51–44 to overturn these EPA waivers. Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D–Mich.) was the only Democrat to vote with Republicans, but identical measures recently passed the House of Representatives with broader bipartisan support.Â
While Republican opposition to the waivers is not surprising, the use of the CRA has stoked a debate about Senate rules which could have implications for future policymaking.
In March, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said these waivers were not rules “for purposes of CRA” and thus the CRA could not be used to overturn California’s regulations. Senate parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough, the nonpartisan official in charge of interpreting Senate rules, deferred to the GAO and ruled that these resolutions would need to pass with 60 votes.Â
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