Senate Republicans have indicated they intend to vote this week on whether to turn California's emissions waiver into nix from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which allowed Blue State to adopt stricter vehicle emission standards than those imposed at the federal level, including a mandate that all vehicles sold by 2035 must be electricity.
The planned vote sets the battle between Republicans and Democrats over whether exemptions are a government “rules” covered by the Congressional Review Act. Democrats describe the GOP manipulation as a “nuclear choice” aimed at maintaining formal Senate rules.
“The administration says that's the rule. GAO says it's not. The US Senate will be asked about this issue tomorrow, and again, I will avoid thinking about it and thinking that many people in this country are devastating.
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California Gov. Gavin Newsom's ambitious electric vehicle agenda is gaining turbulence from House Republicans. (ShutterStock/Getty Images/Smith Collection)
The exemption to California officials to make federal level emissions standards more stringent allows other states to choose to follow federal standards or California's stricter ones.
“Obviously Democrats will make a lot of noise,” Thune added at a press conference Tuesday afternoon, referring to the party's criticism of Republican procedural manipulation.
“But the truth of the matter is that this has nothing to do with the legislative filibuster,” Thune continued. “This is Congress and the US Senator, and the government's accountability office, GAO, should be able to determine what it is for us, and we are bringing the question to the body whether it's not a rule.”
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Senate Majority Leader John Tune (Aldrago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Senator Elizabeth McDonough, who interprets and advises Congressional rules, agreed to the government's Office of Accountability decision that California's EPA exemptions are not considered “regulations.” The contradiction has led Democrats to argue that Republicans are trying to overturn the Senate filibuster. This is an important tool for minority parties to gain leverage in the legislative process.
However, in a brief press conference Tuesday, Thune denounced the Democrats for complaining about operations around the GOP's filibuster, noting that he had tried to knock it down in the past when it was convenient for the party's priorities.
Sunrise Light will hit the dome of the U.S. Capitol on January 2, 2025 as the 119th Congress is scheduled to begin on Friday. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc, Getty Images)
“The only people who tried to remove the legislative filibuster are Democrats, everyone there's popping out and gushing out, and they voted, but they literally voted to remove the legislative filibuster,” Thune said in response to questions about Democrats' criticism.
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“This is a novel and narrow question dealing with the government's accountability department, and it should allow us to determine what the rules are, what is not, or whether the administration and Congress should be able to make that decision.”
