We have been waiting for this day, as President Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency, headed by Lee Zeldin, began the process of rescinding vehicle fuel efficiency standards that Republicans have called a de facto “electric vehicle mandate.

An EPA official stated this past week that dozens of additional regulatory rollbacks were started on what would be “the biggest day of deregulation in American history.” Zeldin announced this afternoon that the EPA would be initiating 31 specific actions to unleash American energy, lower the cost of living, boost the domestic auto industry, and give more power back to the states. The administrator described it as the “greatest day of deregulation our nation has seen.”

The first step is through the Administrative Procedures Act, the EPA is re-evaluating policies enacted last year by the Biden administration meant to reduce emissions for light, medium and heavy-duty vehicles. This would have increased the costs of shipping goods. The estimated regulatory and compliance costs with the current rules is over $700 billion. These costs cause inflation and would be passed on to the consumer.

Some of today’s de-regulations include the light-duty, medium-duty, and heavy-duty vehicle regulations that underpin what the Trump administration often refers to as the “electric vehicle mandate.”

On day one, President Trump signed a series of executive orders on energy policies that he said would tackle inflation after consumer costs soared by 22% during under former President Biden’s.

One of President Trump’s executive orders included reversing a policy that pushed carmakers to make 50% of their output be electric vehicles by 2030, which would increase the costs and limit consumer choices. The ultimate goal was 100% electric vehicles by 2032, that the grid can’t support.

The Biden administration in March 2024 finalized a rule to require carmakers to dramatically reduce carbon emissions beginning for model year 2027 light and medium-size vehicles. This is why car prices have increased to an average of $50,000 for gas cars and $66,000 for electric vehicles.

“The American auto industry has been hamstrung by the crushing regulatory regime of the last administration,” EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin told The New York Post.

President Trump campaigned on scrapping Biden’s fuel efficiency rules by arguing that consumers should have the options of buying gasoline, hybrid or diesel powered vehicles without government interference or mandate.

On February 15, 2025, Lee Zelden, Chair of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sent the California's Clean Air Act waiver (which is directly connected to the Advanced Clean Cars II regulation) to Congress for review. We are waiting for this to go to a vote, and we will report to you on the votes and results.

The CRA states that if this is passed, the EPA and federal government cannot re-attempt to approve this rule. The process allows the vote to come to the floor in an expedited fashion, forcing all members to go on the record with their votes. If Congress votes to undo a rule, the agency cannot propose a similar regulation. It would require an act of congress to override the CRA.

Zeldin posted on X: “Our actions will unleash energy dominance, lower costs for Americans, strengthen the U.S. auto industry, and protect our environment.”

The EPA is taking its biggest action ever to help Americans save trillions of dollars, lower the cost of living, make it more affordable to buy a car, heat a home, or operate a business. And boost job growth! Welcome to the Golden Age of America!

The Environmental Protection Agency in coordination with several other agencies, will announces that they are overhauling the “Endangerment Finding,” a 2009 rule signed by Barack Obama’s EPA administrator Lisa Jackson that declared greenhouse gases constitute a threat to public health and human welfare under the Clean Air Act. The agency is reconsideration of the Obama-era finding will involve a massive overhaul of the regulations that fall under this rule, including vehicle emissions rules.

Lawmakers have a unique opportunity to make things right with the American people, and use their powers to halt EV mandates.

Video Link: https://youtu.be/Kdg1tU0Etgg

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Lauren Fix, The Car Coach is a nationally recognized automotive expert, media guest, journalist, author, keynote speaker and television host. A trusted car expert, Lauren provides an insider’s perspective on a wide range of automotive topics and safety issues for both the auto industry and consumers. Her analysis is honest and straightforward.