Southern California elected officials slam Trump for trying to block states from setting clean air standards
Southern California leaders are slamming President Donald Trump’s decision to block California from setting its own auto emissions standards. And many Democrats are pledging to fight back.
Trump announced in a series of tweets Wednesday morning that he planned to revoke a waiver under the federal Clean Air Act that since 1968 has let California set its own rules for vehicle emissions in the state. The president said his policy will make cars cheaper and safer, while also tweeting that there will be “very little difference” between the standards California has in place and new federal standards.
Opponents, many of whom have been elected after promising to fight global warming and improve the environment, suggested Trump is putting politics for his base above public health and common-sense economics.
“The Trump Administration is prohibiting California from protecting children with asthma and senior citizens,” Rep. Harley Rouda, D-Laguna Beach, tweeted in reaction to the news.
“This would be laughable, as it comes from the so-called party of ‘states’ rights,’ if it wasn’t going to kill our most vulnerable.”
Rep. Katie Hill, D-Agua Dulce, said there’s actually a substantial difference between fuel efficiency standards in California’s plan, which calls for all cars to get 51 miles per gallon by 2026, and Trump’s plan, which freezes standards at 37 miles per gallon.
Hill also refuted Trump’s claim that a lower emissions standard would lead to more jobs.
“Clean cars create just as many jobs as dirty ones,” she tweeted.
Hill argued that Trump’s push to limit California’s ability to set its own environmental policies is not about safety or economics, but about a desire to “control everyone who disagrees with him.”
