By Four888 @Adobe Stock
The Opposite of Amusing
Yes, it seems the times are “a ‘changing.” Corroborating Dylan’s lyrics, the House voted on Thursday in strong bipartisan fashion to overturn the EV mandate that the Biden Administration let California impose on the rest of America.
The WSJ reports that a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution to repeal the waiver that the Environmental Protection Agency granted California for its EV mandate. The waiver provision was written to let California address smog. However, Sacramento Democrats lobbied the Biden EPA to allow it to also apply to carbon emissions.
The waiver demands that zero-emission vehicles account for 43% of automakers’ sales by 2027. This mandate is ludicrously impossible to meet in California and the dozen other states that have signed up for its rules. Even more preposterous, the mandate increases to 68% by 2030. Other than Musk’s Tula, major car dealerships are far from capable of meeting those sales targets.
What was especially striking about the House vote was the 35 Democrat “ayes.”
- Three of six Democrats from Michigan
- Three of five from Ohio, four of 12 from Texas
- Two from the High Climate Church of California (Luis Correa and George Whitesides)
Introducing Economic Realism
One salutary effect of the 2024 election is the introduction of at least some economic realism into the climate policy debate.
Pressed by big environmental donors, Democrats have been willing to genuflect at whatever demands the climate lobby makes—never mind if they will have no effect on global temperatures. President Trump’s willingness to challenge this orthodoxy has shown Democrats that the political risks aren’t all on one side.
Passing the Senate
There’s still more work to be done. Next up is the Senate, which needs to vote to repeal the waiver. According to the CRA, the resolution needs only a simple majority to pass. Skittery Republicans can take comfort in the bipartisan House majority.
The Democratic roll call will be instructive—especially those are up for re-election in 2026 such as Georgia’s Jon Ossoff and Virginia’s Mark Warner.
The Spin Is On
The NYT called the CRA an “obscure law” that threatens the filibuster. The Times doesn’t mention Bill Clinton’s signing the CRA, knowing full well that its provision requires only 51 Senate votes. The NYT continues to beclown itself, claiming Mr. Trump is a dictator, criticizing an attempt by Congress to restrain the executive.
NYT Reporter Maya Miller seems to have a short memory. Did she arbitrarily forget to mention that there were 35 Democratic votes to repeal the California waiver? Further adding to the air of deception, how could Times fact-checkers not have caught this oversight?
Donald Trump campaigned explicitly against such mandates last year. Notable states were in car-making, such as Michigan.
Repealing the waiver, reminds the WSJ, would be “a good deed for the car companies, auto workers, car buyers and the U.S. economy.”
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