Trump Blocks California's Rule on Gas-Powered Cars

President Trump signed a resolution on Thursday that blocks California's 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 Congress last month and aims to quash the country's 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, the AP reports.

• Trump called California's regulations "crazy" at a White House ceremony where he signed the resolutions. "It's been a disaster for this country," he said.
• The president has revoked California's unique permission to set its own emissions standards, which can be tighter than federal rules, Politico reports. Other Democratic-led states have adopted California's standards, making up around a third of the American auto market.
• "The federal government's actions are not only unlawful, they're irrational and wildly partisan," California Attorney General Rob Bonta said. "They come at the direct expense of the health and the well-being of our people." Ten other states, all with Democratic attorneys general, joined the lawsuit.
• In his remarks at the White House, Trump expressed doubts about the performance and reliability of electric vehicles, though he had positive comments about the company owned by Elon Musk. "I like Tesla," Trump said. When it comes to cars, Trump said he likes combustion engines but for those who prefer otherwise, "If you want to buy electric, you can buy electric."
• "Now we know why Elon doesn't like me so much," Trump joked, per Politico, though he added that Musk never asked him to protect electric vehicles and that their falling-out was over "smaller things."
• 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 "are killing our country," 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. "I'll take electrocution every single day," the president said.

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