Senate Republicans say they will eliminate California’s electric vehicle mandate, which threatens to drive up car prices, even if it means destroying the chamber’s rules.
A government agency and the Senate parliamentarian have warned that Congress doesn’t have the authority to erase a state regulation. Still, the Republican-led House and Senate are forging ahead with a plan to overturn California’s requirement that all new passenger cars, trucks and SUVs sold in the state be emission-free by 2035.
“What has come to the Senate is a rule, and rules are subject to the Congressional Review Act, and we plan to use it,” said Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, Wyoming Republican, disputing the parliamentarian’s advice.
Electric vehicles make up about 10% of new car sales. The Biden administration’s efforts to force EVs onto consumers through a now-reversed federal tailpipe emissions cap backfired because of the cars’ higher cost and limited travel range.
Senate Republican leaders say they can reverse California’s mandate under the Congressional Review Act, which enables Congress to overturn certain federal agency actions.
California invoked the ban on gas vehicles using a trio of waivers from the Environmental Protection Agency that allowed it to establish stricter emission standards for new motor vehicles. California officials said the standards are needed to fight air pollution and climate change.
Eleven other states have adopted the California standard, though the automotive industry warns that it would raise auto prices and reduce consumer choices.
The House, using the Congressional Review Act, voted to kill the EPA waivers last month. It declared that the waivers are subject to congressional review and revocation.
The vote garnered the support of all Republicans and 35 Democrats amid fears that California’s mandate will harm consumers by forcing them to buy electric vehicles and will result in higher car prices throughout the nation.
Senate Republicans plan to pass the House measure and send it to President Trump for his signature.
Unlike typical legislation, CRA measures are not subject to filibuster, which means Republicans can pass them with a simple majority instead of the 60 votes needed to end a filibuster. The CRA prohibits the government from reissuing the rule, which means the EPA waivers that enable the higher emission standards could not be reinstated.
Overturning the waivers would defy a 2023 advisory opinion issued by the Government Accountability Office. Officials determined that the waivers were not a rule but rather “an adjudicatory order not subject to CRA,” akin to a license that concerns an issue specific to California.
Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough agreed with the GAO. Lawmakers have strictly abided by the decisions of the parliamentarian, who is appointed and considered nonpartisan.
Democrats warned that if Republicans blow past Ms. MacDonough’s ruling and pass the CRA, revoking California’s EV mandate, they will essentially upend Senate precedent and clear the way for breaking every rule in the chamber.
“Such an action would be a procedural nuclear option — a dramatic break from Senate precedent with profound institutional consequences,” Democratic leaders said in a letter last week to Majority Leader John Thune, South Dakota Republican.
Democrats said ignoring the parliamentarian would allow retroactive invalidation of decades of agency rules and even lead the Senate to ignore the parliamentarian’s rulings on legislation beyond the Congressional Review Act.
“Put bluntly, there is no cabining a decision to overrule the parliamentarian,” Democrats wrote.
Mr. Thune hasn’t set a date for taking up the House-passed CRA and told reporters Tuesday, “We’re exploring our options.”
He scoffed at the warning letter from Democrats, who, he pointed out, plotted to get rid of the Senate’s 60-vote threshold to ram their agenda through Congress when they were in the majority.
“I think it’s pretty rich to have Democrats suggesting this after literally trying to get rid of the filibuster,” Mr. Thune said.
