On Thursday, March 12, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that the federal government was filing a lawsuit on behalf of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to stop the state of California from implementing what the Trump admininstration describes as “an illegal electric vehicle mandate.” The federal government argues that the state-specific mileage requirements for car manufacturers that California is looking to impose are against the law.
The DOJ claims federal law prohibits individual states from adopting regulations related to fuel economy. In addition, the feds say California’s scheme would force the hand of automakers to make radical changes to their model lineup and production lines to meet the California standards, which would significantly increase the cost of vehicles to consumers as well as limit their choice in vehicles.
“The state vehicle standards we are challenging today are preempted by federal law, just like the standards that were blocked by a court in our challenge to California’s so-called Clean Truck Partnership,” said principal deputy assistant attorney general Adam Gustafson of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division.
California has been able to set its own fuel economy policies for decades, ever since the Clean Air Act of 1970 provided a waiver enabling the state to become the sole one in the nation allowed to set its own emissions standards for passenger vehicles. The lawsuit filing claims that the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) of 1975 that created the national Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) program, requiring the U.S. Department of Transportation and NHTSA to set fuel economy standards for vehicles sold in the United States, was designed to establish a single nationwide standard that improves fuel efficiency while preserving consumer choice. EPCA also gives the federal government authority over fuel economy regulations and generally preempts states from setting their own rules, including mandates tied to CO₂ emissions or zero-emission vehicles when federal standards are in place.
DW Burnett
The lawsuit further claims regulating tailpipe CO₂ emissions is closely tied to fuel economy, because both measure how efficiently a vehicle uses fuel. For gasoline and diesel vehicles, reducing CO₂ emissions typically requires lowering fuel consumption, which improves fuel economy. Automakers achieve this through alterations to powertrains and vehicle design, among others factors; because these changes affect fuel efficiency, rules limiting CO₂ emissions—and mandates requiring zero-emission vehicles—directly influence a manufacturer’s overall fleet fuel economy and the standards set under federal regulations.
In its complaint, the United States asks the court to declare California Air Resources Board (CARB) CO₂ emissions standards and zero-emission vehicle mandates unlawful under the EPCA. The government also seeks a permanent injunction blocking California from enforcing or creating similar regulations and requests recovery of legal costs.
The DOJ’s lawsuit comes less than a year after President Donald Trump signed a series of congressional joint resolutions that aimed to halt California’s planned efforts to ban the sale of all new cars powered by fossil fuel starting in the year 2035, a plan initially approved by the administration of former president Joe Biden. At the time, California governor Gavin Newsom launched an executive order in response declaring the state would attempt to find other ways to encourage the adoption of EVs, with the governor’s office also saying it would battle the federal actions in court.
The tension seems liable to continue with this latest legal move. Newsom’s office described the lawsuit announced March 12th as “meritless,” according to the New York Times, adding that Newsom spokesperson Anthony Martinez said, “We’re not backing down from this fight.”
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