Last week, Senate parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough rules that 2022 waivers granted to California by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Clean Air Act are adjudicatory orders and not subject to repeal by the Congressional Review Act (CRA).
Senate Republicans were not swayed by the decision. Sens. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) and Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) introduced joint resolutions of disapproval under the CRA to repeal the waivers.
California Democrats earlier praised the parliamentarian’s decision. MacDonough reaffirmed a Government Accountability Office (GAO) ruling from 2023, which was reinforced by a 2024 opinion from a Congressional Research Service report.
Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said, “Congress granted California the power to regulate its own pollution and vehicle emissions standards and did so on a bipartisan basis almost 60 years ago. Today, another nonpartisan and independent voice has reaffirmed that California’s vehicle emissions standards are not subject to repeal under the expedited processes of the Congressional Review Act, upholding our state’s right to protect our air and the health of our 40 million residents.”
California Sen. Alex Padilla said he was pleased MacDonough upheld decades of precedent.
“This latest stunt from (President Donald) Trump’s EPA was a clearly bogus attempt to undercut California’s climate leadership,” Padilla said, “and it failed. I will keep fighting to defend California’s authority to protect our residents, safeguard clean air, and lower costs for consumers.”
Capito maintained the CRA resolution introduced followed the law.
“The American people have made it clear that they want consumer choice – not an EV mandate,” she said. “I will continue to address all options available to strike down these rules and eliminate the consequential impact they would make across our country.”
Under CRA rules, the House and Senate need majority votes to disapprove of a resolution. Once the resolution has been disapproved by both chambers and signed by the president, the disapproved rule shall not take effect or continue. In addition, a rule may not be issued “in substantially the same form” under CRA rules.
Should the House and Senate vote to disapprove the EPA waivers, federal courts would likely be required to settle the dispute between Congress and the parliamentarian’s ruling.
