Illustration: Sarah Grillo / Axios
The Senate will vote this week on a resolution to overturn a Clean Air Act waiver that lets California set its own auto emissions standards, Majority Leader John Thune said Tuesday morning.
Why it matters: The Congressional Review Act vote will have enormous implications for the U.S. EV market.
- Democrats are warning it could also break the filibuster and set new precedents for the CRA.
Driving the news: Thune said on the floor that Democrats "are attempting to derail a repeal by throwing a tantrum over a supposed procedural problem."
- He had previously been more noncommittal as the GOP conference debated whether to take a vote to effectively overrule the Senate parliamentarian.
Between the lines: The Biden administration granted the waiver late last year allowing California to set new rules that ban the sale of most new gas-powered cars by 2035.
- The state it a huge chunk of the U.S. auto market — and many blue states are allowed to follow California's rules — so automakers have been putting up a fight for months.
- The Trump EPA then submitted the waivers to Congress as formal rules eligible for a quick CRA repeal.
That sparked a procedural fight involving GAO and parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough, who said the waivers are not eligible for CRA consideration.
What we're watching: Democrats say overruling her on this is tantamount to tossing the Senate filibuster.
- They're likely to throw up as many procedural barriers as possible ahead of the vote.
Republicans argue this is a narrow procedural issue that has more to do with GAO than the parliamentarian.
- The debate "is not about destroying Senate procedure or any other hysterical claim the Democrats are making," Thune said.
- "In fact, we are talking about preserving the Senate's prerogatives."
