The past week has been a tumultuous one for California Governor Gavin Newsom.
His leadership, or lack thereof, in his home state, coupled with a similar failure from Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, has led President Donald Trump to mobilize both the National Guard and 700 U.S. Marines to quell the escalating riots in downtown Los Angeles.
Adding insult to injury, President Trump held a ceremony at the White House on Thursday, where he signed a trio of resolutions under the Congressional Review Act (CRA) aimed at dismantling California's electric vehicle (EV) mandate, a cornerstone of Newsom's regulatory policies.
"Under the previous administration, the federal government gave left-wing radicals in California dictatorial powers to control the future of the entire car industry all over the country," Trump declared in his remarks before the signing. "Its been a disaster for this country."
Newsom retorted in a statement, "The weaponization of the Congressional Review Act to attack Californias waivers is just another part of the continuous, partisan campaign against Californias efforts to protect the public and the planet from harmful pollution." His response, however, seems to lack the punch needed to counter the federal government's actions.
According to the Daily Caller, Newsom's countermeasures didn't stop there. Mere minutes after Trump signed the resolutions, California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a lawsuit challenging the resolutions in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. Bonta was joined by Democratic attorneys general from ten other states.
Local Sacramento news outlet KCRA Channel 3 TV highlighted that this lawsuit marks the 26th time Bonta has legally challenged the Trump administration since the start of the year. Despite already spending $5 million on these legal battles, Bonta seems undeterred, especially after the state assembly recently approved a $25 million increase to his budget to continue his legal crusade.
Bonta's lawsuit primarily argues that Congress's use of the CRA to revoke California's Clean Air Act waivers is both unprecedented and illegal. The CRA, enacted in 1996, grants Congress the authority to revoke regulations finalized by an outgoing administration. It was passed with bipartisan support and is designed to curb last-minute regulatory pushes by outgoing administrations.
However, Bonta's chances of success appear slim. The CRA actions are immune to Senate filibuster and judicial review. Moreover, the CRA has seldom been invoked since its inception, and it has never been used to rescind a waiver issued by the EPA or any other federal regulator.
Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), who authored one of the resolutions, views the issue as a defense of consumer choice. She told Politico, "These mandates force Americans into vehicles they dont want or cant afford, all while ignoring the realities of our grid and supply chains." The reality is that few Americans genuinely want to buy EVs, which is the driving force behind Newsom's attempt to impose them.
These developments spell trouble for Governor Newsom, who finds himself increasingly sidelined in his own state as others step in to address the problems he has created. It's a stark reminder that leadership requires more than just a title.
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