Senate nixes California car-emission rules after procedural spat
Highway traffic in San Diego in April. Photo: Kevin Carter/Getty Images
The Senate on Thursday approved a resolution tossing out California's stringent auto emissions standards, sending it to President Trump's desk after an unusual parliamentary fight.
Why it matters: The Senate's action will hugely shake up the long-term future of U.S. auto markets and almost certainly prompt lawsuits from California and other blue states.
Driving the news: Senators approved a Congressional Review Act resolution overturning California's Clean Air Act waiver to set its own auto emissions regulations in a 51-44 vote.
- Republicans had to execute a complex parliamentary maneuver to make it happen, effectively overriding an opinion from the Senate's bipartisan referee that the waiver isn't subject to the CRA.
- The Senate voted late into Wednesday night on points of order and multiple Democratic motions to recess and otherwise delay.
- It came after weeks of procedural bickering, with Democrats arguing that the move is tantamount to nuking the filibuster.
Democrats charged that the move vastly expands Congress' ability to repeal regulations via the CRA — something that they will take advantage of the next time they have power.
- "Any executive decision since the passage of the Congressional Review Act can now be brought here on a purely political basis — boom — blown up," Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse said on the floor.
- "If my colleagues on the other side don't think that we will use this if they do this, they have taken leave of their senses."
- Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said on the floor before the vote: "This is a sad, shameful, disappointing day for the U.S. Senate. Republicans, I believe — I am certain — will come to regret the ill-considered step they take tonight."
Flashback: California set rules that ban the sale of most new gas-powered cars by 2035 under the Clean Air Act waiver issued late last year.
- Automakers have been lobbying furiously for a repeal, and the Trump EPA later submitted the waivers to Congress as formal rules eligible for a quick CRA repeal.
- But both the GAO and Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough said they are not federal "rules" under the review law.
Republicans have argued they are simply asserting the Senate's prerogative and are really in a dispute with GAO — not the parliamentarian.
- "What we're doing has nothing to do with the legislative filibuster," Majority Leader John Thune said on the floor.
- Thune accused Democrats of seeking "to use this situation as cover for destroying the filibuster the next time they're in power."
What we're watching: The Senate is also working through two similar CRA resolutions related to separate waivers for California to set standards for heavy duty trucks and NOx emissions.
- Votes will begin on those Thursday.
