Back to the Drawing Board: Congress has repealed California’s electric vehicle mandate

The ethanol industry received a potential break with Congress’s repeal of a Biden-era federal waiver that would have allowed California to implement an electric vehicle mandate by 2035.

California and eleven other states have now been sent back ot the drawing board on how ot make a shift towards more electric vehicles.
The mandate would have imposed fines as high as $20,000 on purchasers of gas-powered vehicles.

California has called the repeal “unlawful” and has now vowed to sue the Trump administration over the congressional action. Senate Environment Chair Shelley Moore Capito argues that the mandate would have limited consumer decision-making.

“Forcing certain states and certain customers to purchase a vehicle that they may not want or that they can’t find,” she explains. “It really eliminates what I think our country was built on, which is individual choice and making decisions for yourself.”

The repeal is being hailed as a victory by both the ethanol and petroleum industries, as well as many automakers.

Related Stories
American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) economist Danny Munch explains how the Emergency Livestock Relief Program application process differs from other USDA aid programs.
According to the National Council of Farmers Cooperatives (NCFC), President and CEO Chuck Conner says, there is only one other option besides addressing ag labor shortages.
Sen. Roger Marshall, a founding member and chairman of the Make America Healthy Again caucus, joined us with his thoughts on the commission’s latest report and the key ag-related issues.
It’s been a decade since Hurricane Rita ripped through southwest Louisiana, and recovery has been a long, difficult process for many who have lived in the coastal area. Today, oyster farming offers a pearl of hope.
California rancher and former NCBA President Kevin Kester joined House Republicans on Tuesday to tout provisions in the Big, Beautiful Bill that support family ranches.
The EPA proposal laid out two options: fully reallocate all exempted volumes to the 2026–2027 standards, or reallocate half.