On Thursday, President Donald Trump signed three Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolutions into law, rejecting California’s vehicle emission waivers.
The disapproved regulations include the Advanced Clean Cars II Rule, which would have required 100% of new vehicles sold in California by 2035 be electric or plug-in hybrids; the Advanced Clean Trucks Rule, which mandated that a growing percentage of new heavy-duty trucks sold in California be zero-emission vehicles; and the Omnibus Low NOx [nitrogen oxides] Rule, which sought to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions from both passenger and heavy-duty vehicles.
“President Trump’s actions delivered a decisive blow to California’s electric vehicle mandate,” said Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin. “The Biden EPA rules granting California’s waivers allowed one coast to set national policy while imposing significant costs and limiting consumer choice for Americans in every state. We are working to end the EV mandate because, in part, doing so will usher in a new era of prosperity for American auto workers, providing the economic liberty needed to restore this quintessential industry.”
During Trump's first presidential term, the EPA rescinded California's ability to enforce its stricter emissions standards. However, the Biden administration reinstated that authority in 2022.
Then, California’s Advanced Clean Cars II regulations were authorized in 2022 when the EPA granted the state a waiver under the Clean Air Act to phase out the sale of new gasoline-powered vehicles by 2035.
On May 1, however, the House voted to repeal California’s clean vehicles program, and on May 22, the Senate voted against it. The president’s signature means that the regulation is nullified.
“By signing these resolutions into law, President Trump is helping restore consumer choice to the transportation energy market by permitting fair competition among the fuel technologies that American drivers demand,” NACS President and CEO Henry Armour said Friday in a statement. “We also appreciate the leadership of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin, Representatives John Joyce (R-Pennsylvania) and John James (R-Michigan), Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R-West Virginia) and Deb Fischer (R-Nebraska) and the bipartisan group of Congressional supporters who saw this effort through to the president’s desk.”
In January, California withdrew its request for a federal waiver to require commercial truckers to transition to zero-emissions vehicles, preempting an expected denial from the incoming Trump administration, according to NACS.
NACS and other groups also challenged California’s rule in the courts. In December 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court granted a petition filed by NACS and its coalition partners in a case challenging the state of California’s Advanced Clean Cars I rule, according to NACS. In February 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed with NACS’ position and declined to pause further action in the case.
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