The Republican-controlled US House voted on Thursday to prevent California from implementing its groundbreaking rules aimed at phasing out the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035.

This move came a day after the chamber voted to block California's standards to reduce tailpipe emissions from medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, as well as its efforts to curb smog-forming nitrogen oxide pollution from trucks. House Republicans Brett Guthrie of Kentucky and Morgan Griffith of Virginia expressed that this decision is a victory for Americans who will no longer be forced to purchase expensive EVs due to California's impractical mandates. They warned that if not repealed, California's waivers would lead to higher prices for both new and used vehicles, increased dependency on China, and added pressure on the electric grid.

For decades, California has held the authority to set vehicle emissions standards that are stricter than those of the federal government. In 2020, Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom unveiled a plan to phase out the sale of new gas-powered vehicles by 2035, as part of an ambitious effort to reduce emissions from the transportation sector. Plug-in hybrids and used gas-powered cars would still be available for sale.

State regulators later formalised these rules, and other states began to announce their intentions to adopt similar measures. In December, a month before President Donald Trump returned to office, the Biden administration approved California’s waiver to implement these regulations. This week's House votes mostly followed party lines, although some Democrats joined Republicans in advancing the measures. This came despite the Senate Parliamentarian's advice, which aligns with the U.S. General Accountability Office, stating that California's policies are not subject to the review process used by the House.

Republicans invoked the Congressional Review Act, a law designed to enhance congressional oversight of federal agencies' actions, in an attempt to block these rules. In 2019, the Trump administration revoked California's authority to enforce its own emissions standards, but then President Biden later reinstated the state's power to do so. The U.S. Government Accountability Office, a nonpartisan congressional watchdog, stated in a March letter to Congress that the Congressional Review Act cannot legally be used to block California’s standards.

Governor Newsom remarked that this move reflects the Republican Party’s ideological transformation, from a time when presidents like Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan endorsed major environmental legislation to the current era where Trump seeks to dismantle regulations on clean air, water, and climate protections. "Clean air didn't used to be political," Newsom said in a statement. "Our vehicle program helps clean the air for all Californians, and we'll continue defending it."

A representative from the California Air Resources Board, which enacted the vehicle emission standards, stated that the agency remains committed to safeguarding the health of Californians affected by harmful air pollution. "It is unclear what will happen in the Senate. The Senate Parliamentarian in April reaffirmed the GAO's findings that California's Clean Air Act waivers are not subject to the Congressional Review Act," according to California Sen. Adam Schiff's office.

"We will fight this latest attack on California's power to protect its own residents, and I will urge my colleagues in the Senate to recognise the severe implications of proceeding with this violation of states' rights, as well as the dangerous precedent it would set by flouting the unanimous opinion of Congress' trusted arbiters," the Democrat said in a statement. 

Dan Becker, director of the Centre for Biological Diversity's Safe Climate Transport Campaign, described the use of the Congressional Review Act as a backdoor tactic that highlights the reckless behaviour of Republicans. "Republicans may regret opening this Pandora's box, inviting attacks on many other non-rules in the future when they're no longer in charge," Becker said in a statement.

"But the American Petroleum Institute and the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers applauded Thursday's vote, calling it a huge win for US consumers." "California's unlawful ban should never have been authorised, and Governor Newsom should never have been allowed to seize this much control over the American vehicle market, Mike Sommers, the institute's president and CEO, and Chet Thompson, the manufacturers group's president and CEO, said in a joint statement.