California-Led Coalition Sues Trump Over Emissions Rule
WASHINGTON (CN) – Escalating a battle over states’ rights and against climate change, California and 22 other states filed a federal lawsuit Friday against the Trump administration for revoking a Clean Air Act waiver that allowed the Golden State to set emissions rules that are stricter than the federal government.
The complaint was filed against the U.S. Department of Transportation in Washington, D.C., federal court, as activists in the global climate strike marched across the street on the national mall.
California – plus 22 other states, the District of Columbia and the cities of Los Angeles and New York – wants a federal judge to block the alternative federal regulations announced Thursday pre-empting state laws that regulate greenhouse gas emissions from new passenger cars and light trucks.
The coalition alleges the move by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a division of the Transportation Department, far exceeds the agency’s congressionally mandated power. The states further challenge the lack of research NHTSA undertook in issuing the rule.
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