President Donald Trump blocked California’s electric vehicle mandate from taking effect Thursday, signing legislation to undo the Biden administration’s approval of the standards.
The White House event with Republican lawmakers and industry groups fulfills a campaign promise to repeal the California policy that would have required all new cars there and in some other states to be electric by 2035.
It followed significant controversy in Congress. Senate Republicans changed the chamber’s rules to make the legislation and two related resolutions against other California vehicle emissions standards not subject to the filibuster, under which most legislation requires a 60-vote majority.
“We officially rescued the U.S. auto industry from destruction by terminating the California electric vehicle mandate once and for all,” Trump said before signing the legislation.
