US EPA sends California emissions rules to Congress for potential reversal

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Friday said it was sending the Republican-controlled Congress landmark California vehicle emissions rules for potential repeal, its latest effort to prevent tougher state tailpipe requirements.

The EPA said waivers for the California regulations approved under prior Democratic administrations should have been sent to lawmakers under the Congressional Review Act. The rules include California's Advanced Clean Cars I that allows the state to impose vehicle emissions requirements that are stricter than federal standards.

The Trump administration has mounted a multi-pronged effort to deny California the ability to require cleaner vehicles and more electric vehicles. The EPA has also enacted rules making it easier for automakers to sell more gasoline-powered cars and trucks, while making it more expensive to buy EVs.

Air Resources Board Chair Lauren Sanchez said California "will not stand idle while this federal administration continues its illegal and unconstitutional actions denying Californians the right to breathe clean air."

The four waivers sent to Congress for review granted California authority to enact its own emission standards for cars and trucks as well as lawn and garden equipment. The rules have prodded companies to produce cleaner electric models to reduce emissions.

California won approval in 2022 under then President Joe Biden's EPA for the state's current ​vehicle rules known as Advanced Clean Cars I or ACC I, which remains in effect.

In March, the U.S. Transportation Department sued the California Air Resources ‌Board, claiming the state's zero-emission vehicle and tailpipe greenhouse gas emissions rules are illegal.

California's ​rules require automakers to ​sell a rising number ⁠of electric vehicles and meet increasingly stringent limits on tailpipe emissions.

Those rules are much stricter than those imposed by the Trump administration, which plans ​to roll back federal fuel economy rules.

Trump signed legislation last year to overturn California's Advanced Clean Cars II rules that aim to phase out new gasoline-powered cars by ​2035.

The Environmental Defense Fund said the EPA action was unlawful and said the California regulations at issue "will provide cleaner, healthier air for millions of people who suffer from severe smog and soot."

California contends the fuel savings ​for consumers from ⁠the rules far exceed the higher upfront costs of EVs.

Congress rescinded authority for California to outlaw traditional gasoline-powered vehicles after 2035 after Toyota, GM and other automakers lobbied for relief from California's emissions regulations.

That came after the EPA sent Congress the waiver for that program for review. Many Democratic lawmakers contended the waivers are not reviewable under the CRA.

The White House also significantly ​weakened federal tailpipe rules. Congress passed legislation in 2025 to stop collecting penalties for not meeting vehicle tailpipe standards, saving automakers hundreds of millions of dollars.

The EPA in February separately repealed a scientific finding that greenhouse gas emissions endanger human health, and eliminated federal tailpipe emissions standards for cars and trucks.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by David Gregorio)

Copyright Reuters or USA Today Network via Reuters Connect.

This story was originally published June 12, 2026 at 4:35 PM.