President Donald Trump's administration has sued the state of California to stop it from imposing an electric vehicle mandate.
Attorney General Pamela Bondi and Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy announced that the Justice Department, on behalf of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, has challenged California's electric vehicle mandate via state-specific mileage requirements for car manufacturers.
Federal law prohibits individual states from adopting regulations related to fuel economy.
President Donald J. Trump and Secretary Duffy created the “Freedom Means Affordable Cars” initiative to save Americans roughly $109 billion over the next five years and save families $1,000 on the average cost of a new vehicle by resetting NHTSA’s corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards.
California’s fuel economy standards would force carmakers to meet standards more stringent than the national standards adopted by NHTSA.
“Oppressive, expensive electric vehicle mandates drive up costs for American consumers and violate federal law,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “California is using unlawful policies from the last administration to create exorbitant costs for our citizens — this Department of Justice is proud to stand with President Trump and Secretary Duffy to bring litigation that will make life more affordable for American consumers.”
In February, Trump's administration repealed a national EV mandate that pushed automakers to invest billions of dollars in vehicles that most consumers didn't want. Congress also eliminated an EV subsidy to convince consumers to buy electric vehicles.
However, California sets its own vehicle mandates that the federal government is now challenging.
“I was proud to stand alongside President Trump to unveil our plan to eliminate the Biden-Buttigieg EV mandate and allow auto manufacturers to produce cars American families actually want to buy at a more affordable price. But Gavin Newsom is determined to continue pushing Democrats’ radical EV fantasy – even if doing so is illegal,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy. “Newsom may not care about lowering costs, but President Trump does. I want to thank Attorney General Bondi for fighting to protect consumer choice and stop activist governors from destroying our manufacturing sector.”
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Detroit Big Three automakers ate about $50 billion in losses from electric vehicles. At the same time, the average price of a new vehicle broke $50,000 in 2025.
“This lawsuit continues ENRD’s war on regulatory overreach by California that is set on undermining the national market for motor vehicles through unlawful state policies,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD). “The state vehicle standards we are challenging today are preempted by federal law, just like the standards that were blocked by a court in our challenge to California’s so-called Clean Truck Partnership.”
California's fuel mandates would increase car prices, restrict consumer choice, and undermine interstate commerce, according to the complaint.
“This litigation will help automakers design and produce cars and trucks to meet one federal fuel economy regulation. It was a mistake by Presidents Obama and Biden to enable California to set its own backdoor fuel economy policies, which have now spiraled into a costly patchwork quilt of individual state fuel economy requirements. This litigation will correct that misstep,” said NHTSA Administrator Jonathan Morrison.
Carb Edca Complaint by scott.mcclallen
This case challenges the state’s regulations as preempted under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act, which makes NHTSA the exclusive regulator of fuel economy in the United States.
The litigation involves defendants California’s Air Resources Board and its executive officer in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California.
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