Report: White House Pushes Ahead with Plan to Revoke Calif. Emission Powers

The Trump administration reportedly aims to strip California of its right to set its own emission rules before unveiling its plan to freeze or soften Obama-era federal pollution standards.

Earlier this year, reports indicated the Trump administration would tackle both issues simultaneously. California has vowed to defy a federal rollback on standards by enforcing the original Obama-era emission rules currently set to take effect in 2021-2025.

Yesterday, President Donald Trump met to discuss a two-step strategy, sources tell Reuters. They say Trump met with top officials from the Environmental Protection Agency, Dept. of Transportation, Attorney General’s office, National Economic Council and Office of Management and Budget.

Revoking California’s standards-making rights before reworking federal standards presumably would avoid a legal battle and the prospect of dual sets of regulations—an outcome carmakers hope to avoid.

Vehicle manufacturers also have repeatedly signaled a willingness to meet a compromise set of tougher emission and fuel economy targets that would satisfy federal and California regulators. The Trump administration has rebuffed those overtures since breaking off compromise talks with California in February.