California Attorney General Xavier Becerra’s office sent out a press release on Tuesday stating they will not be standing down while Trump and his fossil-fuel funded EPA chief rollback emissions standards.
“The evidence is irrefutable: today’s clean car standards are achievable, science-based and a boon for hardworking American families. But the EPA and Administrator Scott Pruitt refuse to do their job and enforce these standards,” said Attorney General Becerra. “Enough is enough. We’re not looking to pick a fight with the Trump Administration, but when the stakes are this high for our families’ health and our economic prosperity, we have a responsibility to do what is necessary to defend them.”
“The states joining today’s lawsuit represent 140 million people who simply want cleaner and more efficient cars,” said Governor Brown. “This phalanx of states will defend the nation’s clean car standards to boost gas mileage and curb toxic air pollution.”
The states’ lawsuit is in response to the Trump administration and specifically the EPA chief Scott Pruitt’s statements concerning rolling back Obama-era clean air policy. Pruitt and the Trump administration are picking a big fight and they don’t have anywhere near the support they might think they have.
The legal battle between California and the EPA ultimately could lead to two competing emissions standards — one for California and the states that follow it, and another for the rest of the country. That's an outcome automakers would prefer to avoid.
This is no small action. The states and their impact on the car industry is considerable.
Joining Attorney General Becerra, Governor Brown, and the California Air Resources Board in filing today’s lawsuit were the Attorneys General of Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania (also filed by and through its Department of Environmental Protection), Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and the District of Columbia. Minnesota filed by and through its Pollution Control Agency and Department of Transportation. This coalition represents approximately 43% of the new car sales market nationally and 44% of the U.S. population.
Resist.