New Reports Finds EPA Will Likely Give A Waiver For California’s 2035 Gas-Powered Car Sales Ban Mandate

According to a new report first published by the Washington Post on Friday, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is currently set to allow California permission to ban gas-powered cars by 2035, a move made by the Biden Administration in an attempt to “Trump-proof” federal agencies and policies before leaving office next month.

Since California Governor Gavin Newsom first signed the executive order in September 2020 that would make all passenger car sales be zero emission in California by 2035, the new policy has been in a somewhat gray area politically. While the policy initially had many states issues similar laws, it soon faced somethin that Californian-led policies rarely receive – contraction. Some states left the 2035 gas-powered car ban policy after several years a part of it, such as Virginia earlier this year. Others reacted more strongly, like Wyoming, which is currently trying to ban the sale of all electric car sales in the state by 2035.

For California, the 2035 situation is also growing less and less ideal as the sale of all-electric cars has stagnated in the past year. Currently, around 21.4% of all cars sold in the state are electric – with the figure remaining unchanged from last year. California is also likely to miss their electric vehicle sales goal of 35% by 2026, meaning that the state may have to delay the original 2035 end date or change it up to include the far more popular hybrid vehicles. Newsom and other California lawmakers are also feeling increased pressure to do something about it thanks to the declining sales.

Last month, Governor Newsom, faced with president-elect Donald Trump saying that he would end the federal EV rebate that would reduce the number of electric cars sold in California even more, announced that he would be bringing back California rebates to electric cars. While the backlash against that announcement was swift, he has stood firm on the decision so far. More worrying for Newsom, the action also showed that Trump would be willing to fight back against EV policies across the country. And since the EPA under Trump was actively going after the 2035 policy in California legally until Biden was sworn into office in early 2021, it sparked further fears that Trump would attempt a federal action halting state gas-powered car sales bans.

“‘I will end the electric vehicle mandate on day one,” said Trump at the RNC earlier this year in Milwaukee. “This move would result in “saving the U.S. auto industry from complete obliteration.”

This led to Friday, when reports from the EPA came out showing that they would, within the next few weeks, grant a waiver to California allowing them to enforce the 2035 policy. This would be similar to the EPA allowing California to have their own car emissions standards, something which they approved in 2022, sparking multiple lawsuits.

EPA and ‘Trump-Proofing’

If the waiver is allowed for electric vehicles in California, the Trump administration would still be able to attempt to reverse the EPA policy and ultimately end California’s 2035 EV sales ban by federal law. However, as shown with the emissions policies standards fights of his first administration, the legal battles would likely take years.

As of Friday afternoon, the EPA has not commented publicly about what was reported on in the Post, with the EPA saying “EPA continues to review California’s waiver requests closely to make sure its decisions are durable and grounded in the law. We have no updates to share on timing.”

With Republican lawmakers in Washington ready to support an attempt to end California’s 2035 policy and environmental groups prepared to defend federal protections of it, the next four years could prove to be defining, with scenarios ranging from a total federal ban on state gas-powered car sales bans to the EPS being victorious and allowing California to keep the policy and protect it.

“The American people have proven to refuse to be force-fed these electric vehicles,” explained Senator John Barrasso (R-WY) earlier this week. “Can’t be pushed into buying them, can’t be bribed into buying them. ‘No thank you,’ said the American consumer. But that’s exactly what the Democrats have been trying to do – to ban traditional vehicles and to bribe people to buy electric vehicles.”

Veronica Deer, an auto industry analyst who focuses on the electric market, added in a Globe interview on Friday that “This EPA attempt won’t be that strong legally speaking. But Trump vowed to go after California’s mandate, and has been shown to try and end it before. The Biden administration saw this and, like a lot of other policies, is trying to safeguard their own before he comes in.

“The big question will be if it manages to be successful. Legal matters take time, but Trump has also proved to be very persistent in getting what he wants done. He and the GOP, all majority in both Houses, can easily try and get rid of it. They have the numbers. But ultimate success, especially if the EPA pulls this in the next few weeks, that’s the big question.”

As of Friday, the incoming Trump administration has not commented on the EPA reports.