Dozens of Democrats have sided with Republicans in a vote to block a waiver pushed through by former President Joe Biden during his final days in office.
Biden’s 11th-hour rule cleared a path for California to enact a Democrat Governor Gavin Newsom’s full ban on gas cars by 2035.
Thirty-five House Democrats have now joined with Republicans in rebuking Biden’s waiver.
A Republican resolution aimed at repealing the Biden-era Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) move passed by a 246 to 164 vote on Thursday morning.
Notably, two California House Democrats were among the 35 who voted to rescind their own state’s clean energy waiver.
Reps. Lou Correa (D-CA) and George Whitesides (D-CA) both voted against the waiver.
They were joined by other Democrats, including Reps. Bennie Thompson (D-MS), Pat Ryan (D-NY), Tom Suozzi (D-NY), Jared Moskowitz (D-FL), Hillary Scholten (D-MI), and Frank Mrvan (D-IN).
It was a stunning repudiation of their own former party leader’s policies targeting one of the Democrats’ largest strongholds.
Republican leaders, meanwhile, cheered the resolution’s passage.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) said of the California waiver:
“This radical measure bans the sale of gas-powered vehicles, forcing electric vehicles on the American people and taking away consumer choice.”
“Americans should choose which car best suits their needs and the needs of their family, not the government,” Scalise added.
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN) said:
“There is no reason the radical climate policies of California should regulate the entire American population and rob every American of consumer choice.”
“House Republicans are righting yet another wrong done by the Biden administration and returning basic freedom to choose whatever car you want to the American people,” Emmer said.
Rep. John Joyce (R-PA), vice chairman of the House Energy & Commerce Committee, introduced a resolution of disapproval last month.
The resolution targets a Biden administration-era waiver granted to California that would help the state realize its goal of a full ban on the sale of new gas cars by 2035.
A resolution of disapproval, under the Congressional Review Act, allows lawmakers a mechanism to oppose unilateral rules made by federal agencies.
Biden’s EPA approved the waiver in December 2024, just over a month before he left office.
The waiver was granted despite concerns raised by major automakers earlier that year about the feasibility of California’s goals.
However, state officials pushing the plan have insisted it was critical to “save the planet” from “climate change.”
At the time, the Biden administration argued the waiver amounted to an order rather than a regulatory rule, meaning it would not be subject to congressional review.
However, it has been the subject of a standoff between the Trump administration and the federal bureaucracy since then.
The Trump administration asked Congress to review the waiver in late February of this year.
The move paved the way for a potential repeal under the GOP-controlled House and Senate.
However, the Government Accountability Office said in March that California’s waiver is not subject to the Congressional Review Act.
