For decades, California has been able to adopt its own emissions regulations, effectively setting the bar for carmakers nationally. And for just as long, Republicans have resented the state’s outsize influence.
Republicans, joined by a handful of Democrats, voted to eliminate California’s electric vehicle policy, which had been adopted by 11 other states.
The Trump administration asked Republicans in Congress to stop California’s ban on new gas-powered cars. The Senate parliamentarian said it wasn’t allowed.
The administration is setting the stage for Congress to repeal a longstanding waiver that allows California to set its own pollution standards. State officials say the effort is illegal.
The funding, approved by Congress and overseen by the Environmental Protection Agency, had been blocked since January, when President Trump ordered a pause and review of climate and clean energy programs.
The state will no longer require some truckers to shift away from diesel semis but hopes that subsidies can keep dreams of pollution-free big rigs alive.
State regulators said the measures would probably have been rejected by the Trump administration and that they would focus on homegrown legal strategies instead.
President-elect Donald J. Trump is expected to roll back many of the rules and subsidies that have attracted billions of dollars from the private sector to renewable energy and electric vehicles.
The Trump administration is expected to revoke the program, setting up a legal clash between the state and federal government.
California and 11 other states want to halt the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035. President-elect Donald Trump is expected to try to stop them.