With Baumgartner in audience, Trump signs bill blocking Washington’s electric vehicle mandate; state sues in response

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump on Thursday signed legislation into law that blocks Washington and other states from following California’s lead in phasing out gas-powered vehicles.

Rep. Michael Baumgartner of Spokane was among dozens of Republican lawmakers invited to the White House for the occasion, which the president used to riff on a variety of topics in addition to the bill. Between calling Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell “a numbskull” and highlighting his own popularity on TikTok, Trump celebrated the revocation of Biden-era waivers from the Environmental Protection Agency that let California impose stricter vehicle emissions standards than the federal government.

After the Biden administration allowed California to ban the sale of gas-powered cars starting in 2035, Washington followed suit in 2022, requiring that all new cars sold in the state be either fully electric or plug-in hybrids. A total of 17 states has adopted similar rules that the newly signed law revokes.

“The automakers didn’t know what to do, because they’re really building cars for two countries,” Trump said. “When you have 17 states, you’re building cars for two countries.”

In an interview before the bill-signing ceremony, Baumgartner said the California regulation and its progeny would have been devastating to the U.S. economy.

“There does not exist the ability to magically create electric semi-trucks that move nearly 70% of the goods that Americans consume, so it would have been crippling to our economy if this rule was left in place,” he said. “You can’t run semitrucks across America on unicorn laughter and aspirational dreams of environmental extremists.”

To revoke the waivers, the EPA issued under a previous administration, lawmakers invoked the Congressional Review Act, which allowed them to skirt the 60-vote supermajority required to pass most bills in the Senate. They did so despite the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office and the Senate parliamentarian, the chamber’s neutral adviser on rules, both informing senators that the EPA waivers didn’t count as the executive-branch rules for which the act applies.

Despite near-unanimous opposition from Democratic senators, the bill revoking California’s waivers received significant bipartisan support in the House, plus a single Democratic senator, Michigan’s Elissa Slotkin.

Trump was surprised on Thursday when a GOP lawmaker in the room told him 35 House Democrats had voted in favor. One of them was Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of southwest Washington, who runs an auto repair shop with her husband and has been a frequent critic of her party’s push to speed a transition to electric vehicles.

Shortly after Thursday’s ceremony concluded, Washington Attorney General Nick Brown and California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced a joint lawsuit with nine other states challenging the elimination of California’s waiver. The suit alleges that the resolution violates the separation of powers, the Take Care Clause and multiple federal statutes, including the Congressional Review Act and Administrative Procedure Act.

In the lawsuit, the plaintiff states allege that the Congressional Review Act has “never before been used in any context that resembles this one. It has certainly never been used, as it was here, to negate particular state laws.”

The lawsuit seeks to have the resolution declared unlawful and to require the federal government to implement the Clean Air Act consistent with the granted waivers.

“Transportation is the single greatest contributor to greenhouse gas pollution in Washington, and our residents understand the transition to zero-emission vehicles is critical in the fight against climate change,” Brown said in a statement Thursday. “This is the Trump administration’s latest unlawful attempt to derail Washington’s and the nation’s transition to a clean future.”

At the White House, Trump railed against Democrats’ efforts to use state and federal laws to phase out gas-powered vehicles – the country’s biggest single source of greenhouse gas emissions – and speed the adoption of wind, solar and other low-carbon energy sources.

“They’re making you buy stuff that doesn’t work,” the president said. “You should be given the option to buy the electric car, by a gasoline-powered car, buy a hybrid. Probably not hydrogen, because hydrogen has the tendency that when it blows up, you’re gonzo. It’s over.”

After the room broke out in laughter at that line, Trump turned to Rep. Steve Scalise and said, “It’ll make your accident look like peanuts,” apparently referring to the 2017 shooting that left the Louisiana Republican in critical condition.

Washington state officials have taken steps in recent days to prepare for the new federal law. In a June 6 memo, the Washington Department of Ecology notified vehicle manufacturers that it would temporarily pause compliance requirements for some vehicle categories.

“This recent federal action introduces new uncertainty for states, manufacturers, and consumers at a time when both businesses and consumers are making real progress in reducing the transportation sector’s greenhouse gas emissions,” Ecology Director Casey Sixkiller said in a statement June 6. “It undermines states’ rights, negatively impacts public health, and puts U.S. automakers at a competitive disadvantage in a global market that is rapidly transitioning to zero-emission vehicle technology.”

Sixkiller added that the agency would work with legislators, industry partners, local governments and other states to “stay on track and ensure continued progress toward our climate and public health goals.”

After the federal bill cleared the Senate in late May, Gov. Bob Ferguson said in a statement that the action was “brazenly out of step with the law, science, and public will.”

“For more than 50 years, states have possessed the ability to adopt stronger vehicle emissions standards to protect public health. Washington has exercised that right, along with 17 other states, resulting in cleaner air and healthier communities,” Ferguson said. “Despite this retreat from public health by the federal government, I’m committed to ensuring Washington moves forward on building a healthier, cleaner future.”

Thursday’s bill signing drew praise of the Washington Trucking Association, which said it remains committed to working with Washington lawmakers and the Department of Ecology on a “workable path to electrification.”

“California’s EV trucking mandates have been a disaster for states like Washington, and have caused real harm to the trucking industry, a key link in our trade-dependent state’s supply chain network,” the association’s president and CEO, Sheri Call, said in a statement. “Washington state does not have the infrastructure in place to properly institute such a sweeping mandate like this, and the technology has not advanced enough yet to support the trucking industry’s rapid transition to clean energy. Our neighbors in Oregon recently opted out of these mandates for these same reasons.”

Vicki Giles Fabré, vice president of the Washington State Auto Dealers Association, said that Washington’s franchised new car and truck dealers have “made substantial investments in electrification and remain committed to selling electric and hybrid vehicles.”

“The Washington State Auto Dealers Association intends to work with state policymakers to find solutions that incentivize increased adoption of these vehicles, while also supporting the needs of franchised dealers, their employees, and the customers they serve,” Fabré said in a statement Wednesday.

According to Sixkiller, one in five new vehicles sold today runs on zero-emission technology.

“We’re not going to slow down that progress. Washingtonians already experience the impacts of climate change every year, from drought and wildfire to flooding and sea-level rise,” Sixkiller said in a statement following the Attorney General’s lawsuit. “As our Attorney General’s Office fights to protect our state’s rights, we’ll continue working with the Legislature, industry partners, local governments, and other states to continue our progress on clean transportation. At a time of great uncertainty, that’s a promise we can keep.”