Fury as Republicans go ‘nuclear’ in fight over California car emissions
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Senate Blocks California's 2035 Electric Vehicle Mandate
Above: Electric vehicles charge at a station in Corte Madera, California, on May 19, 2025. Image copyright: Justin Sullivan/Staff/Getty Images News via Getty Images
The Spin
Republican narrative
This is a victory for the American economy and people. Newsom's radical policy would have been disastrous for both, costing hundreds of thousands of jobs and ruining several key sectors of the U.S. economy. Given the danger posed by California's policy, the Senate's use of the CRA was necessary.
Democratic narrative
The Senate's use of the CRA was frankly illegal. It contradicted the GAO's ruling, ignored the Senate Parliamentarian's advice, and threatened to undo decades of environmental progress stretching back to Nixon and Reagan. California, however, will not take this transgression lying down and will fight this attack on its rights in court.