California — and allied states — will be allowed to ban the sale of new gas cars eventually, Joe Biden’s Environmental Protection Agency announced Wednesday, teeing up yet another electric vehicle fight for Donald Trump when he takes office.
The new waiver is the latest in a series of decisions from the Biden administration designed to promote the transition from gas-powered to electric vehicles. If California follows through, Gov. Gavin Newsom will very likely take the mantle he’s been jockeying for since Trump won as the country’s opposition leader on climate change.
“There are two levels of an executive politics game here. One we can think of is Biden vs. Trump. And then the other one will be Trump vs. Newsom,” said Barry Rabe, an expert on environmental regulations and executive action at the University of Michigan. “This will continue to be a battle in the courts. California and allied states will push as hard as possible.”