CA to sue Trump administration after Senate's 'illegal' vote to undo state's EV rules

California Gov. Gavin Newsom and state Attorney General Rob Bonta announced Thursday plans to file a lawsuit in response to the U.S. Senate blocking the state's first-in-the-nation rule that bans the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035.

The measure overturning the rule now goes to the White House, where Trump is expected to sign it, along with two other resolutions that would block California rules curbing tailpipe emissions in certain vehicles and smog-forming nitrogen oxide pollution from trucks. All three measures were approved by the Senate on Thursday and by the House earlier this month.

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California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, and state air regulators say that what Congress is doing is illegal and they will sue to keep the rules in place.

"This is not about electric vehicles," Newsom said at a news conference while the Senate was still voting on the measures. "This is about polluters being able to pollute more."

The GOP effort could have a profound impact on California's longtime efforts to curb air pollution. California makes up roughly 11% of the U.S. car market, giving it significant power to shape purchasing trends - especially because about a dozen states have already followed California's lead. Vehicles are one of the largest sources of planet-warming emissions.

Senate Democrats charged that Republicans are acting at the behest of the oil and gas industry and they say California should be able to set its own standards after obtaining waivers from the Environmental Protection Agency.

The Senate parliamentarian - the upper chamber's nonpartisan rules authority - previously said Congress cannot claw back California's regulation under the Congressional Rules Act (CRA). That tool allows Congress to reverse certain regulations with a simple majority vote in both the House and Senate. Both the parliamentarian and the Government Accountability Office, which issues legal opinions, said the CRA cannot be used to revoke the EPA's waiver in this case.

Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., told ABC7 News that he finds the Republicans' move to be hypocritical.

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"They say they're for states' rights in one breath. On the other hand, they want to say, no, California, you don't get to decide how clean or dirty your air is, we'll decide that for you. That's just a giveaway to the oil industry," he said. "But the other thing that they're being very disingenuous about is this requires 60 votes and they don't have 60 votes. So they've done away with the filibuster. They overruled the parliamentarian who said the filibuster applies here."

Republicans say the phaseout of gas-powered cars, along with other waivers that California has obtained from the EPA, is costly for consumers and manufacturers, puts pressure on the nation's energy grid and has become a de facto nationwide electric vehicle mandate.

"America cannot meet these impossible standards -- not next year, and not in 10 years," said Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso, the second-ranking Republican.

U.S. Rep. Kevin Kiley, a California Republican, praised the Senate action to block his state's EV goals.

"It's the bad policies that are causing the price of gas and the price of a lot of other things to be so expensive. So it's time to start rolling those back. And getting rid of this ban is a really good start," he said.

Alice Kaswan, an environmental law professor with the University of San Francisco, said she disagrees with the Congressional action, but noted consumers are naturally already shifting to electric.

"I think that the million-dollar question will be the degree to which there is already a consumer desire and preference for electric vehicles. So I don't think that will go away because the manufacturer mandate is gone," she said.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.