WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥 President Donald Trump signed a resolution on Thursday that blocks California鈥檚 first-in-the-nation rule banning the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035.
The state quickly announced it was challenging the move in court, with California's attorney general holding a news conference to discuss the lawsuit before Trump's signing ceremony ended at the White House.
The resolution was approved by and aims to quash the country鈥檚 most aggressive attempt to phase out gas-powered cars. Trump also signed measures to overturn state policies curbing tailpipe emissions in certain vehicles and smog-forming nitrogen oxide pollution from trucks.
Trump called California鈥檚 regulations 鈥渃razy鈥 at a White House ceremony where he signed the resolutions.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been a disaster for this country,鈥 he said.
It comes as the Republican president is with California's Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, over Trump's to Los Angeles in response to immigration protests. It's the latest in an ongoing battle between the Trump administration and heavily Democratic California over issues including , the and .
The state is already involved in more than two-dozen lawsuits challenging Trump administration actions, and the state's Democratic Attorney General Rob Bonta announced the latest one at a news conference in California. Ten other states, all with Democratic attorneys general, joined the lawsuit filed Thursday.
鈥淭he federal government鈥檚 actions are not only unlawful; they鈥檙e irrational and wildly partisan,鈥 Bonta said. 鈥淭hey come at the direct expense of the health and the well-being of our people.鈥
The three resolutions Trump signed will block California鈥檚 rule phasing out gas-powered cars and end the sale of new ones by 2035. They will also kill rules that phase out the sale of medium- and heavy-duty diesel vehicles and cut tailpipe emissions from trucks.
In his remarks at the White House, Trump expressed doubts about the performance and reliability of electric vehicles, though he had some notably positive comments about the company owned by , despite their fractured relationship.
鈥淚 like Tesla,鈥 Trump said.
In remarks that often meandered away from the subject at hand, Trump used the East Room ceremony to also muse on windmills, which he claimed 鈥渁re killing our country,鈥 the prospect of getting electrocuted by an electric-powered boat if it sank and whether he'd risk a shark attack by jumping as the boat went down.
鈥淚鈥檒l take electrocution every single day," the president said.
When it comes to cars, Trump said he likes combustion engines but for those that prefer otherwise, 鈥淚f you want to buy electric, you can buy electric.鈥
鈥淲hat this does is it gives us freedom,鈥 said Bill Kent, the owner of convenience stores. Kent, speaking at the White House, said that the California rules would have forced him to install 鈥渋nfrastructure that frankly, is extremely expensive and doesn鈥檛 give you any return.鈥
The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which represents major car makers, applauded Trump鈥檚 action.
鈥淓veryone agreed these EV sales mandates were never achievable and wildly unrealistic,鈥 John Bozzella, the group鈥檚 president and CEO, said in a statement.
Newsom, who is , and California officials contend that what the federal government is doing is illegal and said the state plans to sue.
Newsom said Trump鈥檚 action was a continuation of his 鈥渁ll-out assault鈥 on California.
鈥淎nd this time he鈥檚 destroying our clean air and America鈥檚 global competitiveness in the process,鈥 Newsom said in a statement. 鈥淲e are suing to stop this latest illegal action by a President who is a wholly-owned subsidiary of big polluters.鈥
The signings come as Trump has pledged to revive American auto manufacturing and boost oil and gas drilling.
The move follows other steps the Trump administration has taken to roll back rules that aim to protect air and water and reduce emissions that cause climate change.
The on Wednesday proposed repealing rules that limit fueled by coal and natural gas.
Dan Becker with the Center for Biological Diversity, said the signing of the resolutions was 鈥淭rump鈥檚 latest betrayal of democracy.鈥
鈥淪igning this bill is a flagrant abuse of the law to reward Big Oil and Big Auto corporations at the expense of everyday people鈥檚 health and their wallets,鈥 Becker said in a statement.
California, which has some of the nation鈥檚 worst air pollution, has been able to seek waivers for decades from the EPA, allowing it to adopt stricter emissions standards than the federal government.
In his first term, Trump revoked California鈥檚 ability to enforce its standards, but Democratic President Joe Biden reinstated it in 2022. Trump has not yet sought to revoke it again.
Republicans have long criticized those waivers and earlier this year opted to use the Congressional Review Act, a law aimed at improving congressional oversight of actions by federal agencies, to try to block the rules.
That鈥檚 despite a finding from the U.S. Government Accountability Office, a nonpartisan congressional watchdog, that California鈥檚 standards cannot legally be blocked using the Congressional Review Act. The Senate parliamentarian agreed with that finding.
California, which makes up roughly 11% of the U.S. car market, has significant power to sway trends in the auto industry. About a dozen states signed on to adopt California's rule phasing out the sale of new gas-powered cars.
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Austin reported from Sacramento, Calif.
