GOP wants to overturn California’s EV mandates. How will it affect Gavin Newsom?
Congressional Republicans are eager to overturn California’s aggressive efforts to end the dependence on gasoline-powered cars and trucks.
Some Democrats agree with the GOP, and that could mean political headaches for Gov. Gavin Newsom as he tries to build a name for himself on the national stage.
Recently, 35 House Democrats joined all the chamber’s Republicans to overturn California’s plan to ban sales of new gasoline-powered cars in the state by 2035. The Senate is expected to act this week.
While the effort ultimately faces significant legal and procedural challenges, the votes are a significant political statement, one that could say a lot to voters still learning about Newsom, who has been a strong supporter of climate change-related initiatives.
“This could marginally hurt Newsom’s national brand, especially with more moderate Democrats opposing,” said Christian Grose, academic director of the University of Southern California Schwarzenegger Institute.
Before the votes, Rep. Kevin Kiley, R-Roseville, made it clear Newsom was at the center of the emissions policies.
“Our governor in California, Gavin Newsom, likes to say that California leads the nation and, unfortunately, President Biden enabled him to do just that,” Kiley said in a House floor speech April 30, just before the House voted.
Newsom, he said, “has led our nation down a path of total insanity in a way that puts us at war with common sense, with American consumers and with our fantastic truckers.”
Newsom protested the House’s action.
“Trump Republicans are hell-bent on making California smoggy again,” he said in a statement. “Clean air didn’t used to be political.”
Newsom for president?
Newsom is trying to be a national political player. He’s got fundraising committees to help pay for his political activity and has traveled around the country promoting other Democrats.
He’s also got some apparent hurdles.
”There are a number of burdens on him that come with being from California,” said Dante Scala, professor of political science at the University of New Hampshire. The state is the traditional site of the nation’s first presidential primary.
The governor has been trying in recent weeks to move closer to the center. His podcast has featured Trump-friendly firebrands Charlie Kirk and Steve Bannon. Newsom has been critical of having transgender people involved in women’s sports.
At the same time, he’s been critical of President Donald Trump’s tariffs and bitterly criticized the House’s efforts to reverse the emissions policies.
Republicans made it clear during the House emissions debate they were delivering a loud rebuke to Newsom.
“The American people should choose what vehicle is right for them, not California bureaucrats,” said Rep. Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
Newsom remains largely unknown outside California. An Economist/YouGov poll taken between March 30 and April 1 showed that among potential 2028 Democratic contenders, Harris was called the “ideal choice” for the party’s nominee by 25% followed by former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg at 10%.
Newsom was fifth with 7%, trailing Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, each with 8%.
In Iowa, which traditionally hosts a crucial presidential caucus every four years, Newsom’s image has yet to be formed, which means Newsom-bashing could have some impact.
At the moment, “he doesn’t register here in the Midwest,” said Dennis Goldford, professor of political science emeritus at Drake University in Des Moines.
Congress and California
The House took three votes on different California policies. It approved a bill sponsored by Rep. Jay Obernolte, R-Big Bear Lake, to disapprove the state’s most recent nitrogen oxide (NOx) engine emission standards. Ten Democrats, none from California, voted with the Republicans.
A second vote, aimed to reverse the state decision to require sellers to offer only zero-emission trucks, got 13 Democratic votes, none from California.
The third vote, regarding the ban on sales of new gasoline-powered vehicles by 2035, got a yes from not only all Republicans, but 35 Democrats. Among them were Reps. Lou Correa, D-Santa Ana, and George Whitesides, D-Santa Clarita.
“As Americans, we all want to do our part to protect the environment. That’s why for decades, I have been driving a hybrid car,” Correa said.
“As a lawmaker, my primary job is to listen to my neighbors and respect their choices to do what is best for their families and their circumstances. That means protecting consumers’ rights to drive whatever vehicle makes sense for them and their pocketbooks.”
Whitesides did not respond to a request for comment.
Newsom reacted quickly to the vote, charging that “big polluters and the right-wing propaganda machine have succeeded in buying off the Republican Party — and now the House is using a tactic that the Senate’s own parliamentarian has said is lawless”
Newsom’s office would not comment on any political fallout from the vote.
The Senate began debating all this last week.
“Do you think the American people really support what you’re trying to shove down their throats?” Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyoming, asked Democrats. “No, they don’t. No wonder the Democrats lost the election.”
California senators fired back.
Noting the state has the world’s fourth largest economy, Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., told colleagues earlier this month, “California didn’t get there by just holding on to technologies of the past. We did so by innovation and investment in clean technologies. So we are proving that you can be for clean air and for business and economic growth.”
If Senate Republicans “strike down clean air rules so industry can pollute more, they will establish a new precedent that will haunt them in the future. They should prepare themselves to have their state policies struck down by a simple majority of the next Democratic Congress,” he said.
It’s unclear how many Democrats will go along with Republicans on this issue. But it does complicate Newsom’s efforts to soften his liberal image in an increasingly unpredictable political environment.
“It is not surprising that the House Republicans voted to overturn California’s mandate,” said USC’s Grose. “I am a bit surprised that 35 Democrats voted with the Republicans.”
This story was originally published May 19, 2025 at 4:08 PM with the headline "GOP wants to overturn California’s EV mandates. How will it affect Gavin Newsom?."
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