This week, Republicans in Congress and the executive branch stepped up their efforts to roll back clean vehicle legislation and regulations. Antipathy toward environmental protections was a hallmark of the first Trump administration, but in his second term, the President and his congressional allies are redoubling their efforts to allow cars to pollute more and limit the adoption of electric vehicles.
Congressional republicans have been working on a budget bill that would radically transform many aspects of American life. Among the environmental protections being stripped away in the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (yes, that’s what it’s called) is a repeal of the US Environmental Protection Agency’s rules on “greenhouse gas and multi-pollutant emissions standards.”
These regulations are meant to limit the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by the US vehicle fleet, a major driver of climate change, as well as the noxious pollutants containing sulfur and nitrogen compounds that have more immediate and deleterious effects on human health. And if the budget bill is sent to Trump to sign, the existing Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) rules, implemented in 2022, and the future rules meant to take effect next year will be no more.
The House bill also eliminates the IRS clean vehicle tax credit, which provides up to $7,500 for buyers of some new EVs, plug-in hybrids, and fuel cell EVs; $4,000 for buyers of some used EVs; and the commercial vehicle tax credit of $7,500 that applied to any leased EV.
