Politics

Trump to stop California from setting tougher auto emission standards

In the face of strong opposition from California elected officials and parts of the auto industry, President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced that his administration will revoke a special waiver which has allowed California to set stricter auto emission and fuel mileage standards than the federal government.

"The Trump Administration is revoking California’s Federal Waiver on emissions in order to produce far less expensive cars for the consumer, while at the same time making the cars substantially SAFER," President Trump announced in a series of tweets from California.

The announcement drew immediate condemnation from California officials and Democrats in the Congress.

"The President is completely wrong," said Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA).

California officials expressed outrage at the President's plans, arguing the main impact would be to create more pollution in the Golden State.

"You have no basis and no authority to pull this waiver," California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said.

"We’re ready to fight for a future that you seem unable to comprehend; we’ll see you in court if you stand in our way," Becerra added.

The authority for California comes from the federal Clean Air Act, which allowed the feds to grant waivers to states that wanted to set tougher emission standards than the federal government.

The announcement opens a second legal fight with the Golden State over auto emission standards, as last week the Trump Administration said it would investigate agreements made between California and major automakers about those standards.

"This investigation appears to be nothing more than a politically motivated act of intimidation," Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) wrote in a letter to the U.S. Attorney General.