The announcement drew immediate condemnation from California officials and Democrats in the Congress.
"The President is completely wrong," said Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA).
California officials expressed outrage at the President's plans, arguing the main impact would be to create more pollution in the Golden State.
This is simply inaccurate.
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) September 18, 2019
Your standards will cost consumers $400 billion.
Result in 320 billion more gallons of oil burned and spewed into our air.
And hurt car companies’ ability to compete in a global market.
It’s bad for our air. Bad for our health. Bad for our economy. https://t.co/VHPxG59gMO
Hi, @realDonaldTrump. Let me break it down in simple terms for you...
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) September 17, 2019
Reducing emissions:
-Protects our air & health
-Is good for the economy
-Allows families to pay less at the pump
We’re here in the 21st century. Let us know when you decide to join us. https://t.co/gZzUjXeFxo
"You have no basis and no authority to pull this waiver," California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said.
"We’re ready to fight for a future that you seem unable to comprehend; we’ll see you in court if you stand in our way," Becerra added.
The authority for California comes from the federal Clean Air Act, which allowed the feds to grant waivers to states that wanted to set tougher emission standards than the federal government.
California has had stricter fuel economy standards than the US since the 1960s and better air quality ever since.
— Mike Levin (@MikeLevinCA) September 18, 2019
Here’s then-Governor Ronald Reagan creating the CA Air Resources Board in 1967.@realDonaldTrump doesn’t care about the people of CA — he only cares about Big Oil. pic.twitter.com/6X786N9Wca
The announcement opens a second legal fight with the Golden State over auto emission standards, as last week the Trump Administration said it would investigate agreements made between California and major automakers about those standards.
"This investigation appears to be nothing more than a politically motivated act of intimidation," Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) wrote in a letter to the U.S. Attorney General.
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