Supreme Court Delivers Blow to California’s Electric Vehicle Agenda [WATCH]

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 7-2 on Friday in favor of oil and fuel producers, allowing them to proceed with a lawsuit challenging California’s electric vehicle regulations that were approved by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

🚨 BREAKING: The U.S. Supreme Court just struck a MASSIVE blow against the EPA and Radical Democrats climate agenda by allowing energy producers to challenge California’s EV emissions standards, citing economic harm from reduced gasoline demand.

Final vote 7-2. pic.twitter.com/50X2jWfmad

— Proud Elephant 🇺🇸🦅 (@ProudElephantUS) June 20, 2025

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The decision overturns a lower court ruling that had dismissed the case on the basis that the fuel producers lacked standing.

The challenge concerns California’s push to require automakers to meet specific electric vehicle production quotas and lower average greenhouse gas emissions for vehicles sold in the state.

Writing for the majority, Justice Brett Kavanaugh stated that energy companies directly affected by the EPA’s approval of California’s electric vehicle mandates have the constitutional right to pursue legal action.

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“The government generally may not target a business or industry through stringent and allegedly unlawful regulation, and then evade the resulting lawsuits by claiming that the targets of its regulation should be locked out of court as unaffected bystanders,” Kavanaugh wrote in the majority opinion.

Kavanaugh noted that the EPA has shifted its interpretation of the Clean Air Act under different presidential administrations, particularly regarding California’s authority to regulate vehicle emissions at the state level.

“This case involves California’s 2012 request for EPA approval of new California regulations,” Kavanaugh wrote.

“As relevant here, those regulations generally require automakers (i) to limit average greenhouse-gas emissions across their fleets of new motor vehicles sold in the State and (ii) to manufacture a certain percentage of electric vehicles as part of their vehicle fleets.”

The case arose after the EPA granted a waiver under the Clean Air Act allowing California to implement regulations that go beyond federal standards.

The waiver has permitted California to pursue aggressive emissions and electric vehicle goals, including efforts to phase out new gas-powered vehicle sales.

A panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals had previously dismissed the case brought by fuel producers, ruling that they did not have standing to challenge the EPA’s decision. Friday’s Supreme Court ruling overturns that finding.

The majority opinion was joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Amy Coney Barrett, and Elena Kagan. Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented.

Following the decision, American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) President and CEO Chet Thompson issued a statement applauding the ruling.

“The Supreme Court put to rest any question about whether fuel manufacturers have a right to challenge unlawful electric vehicle mandates,” Thompson said.

“California’s EV mandates are unlawful and bad for our country. Congress did not give California special authority to regulate greenhouse gases, mandate electric vehicles or ban new gas car sales—all of which the state has attempted to do through its intentional misreading of statute.”

The case now returns to the lower courts for further litigation on the merits of the challenge.

California has relied on the Clean Air Act waiver to implement its own vehicle emissions rules for decades.

The state has recently moved toward stricter electric vehicle targets, including a plan announced in 2022 to ban the sale of new gasoline-powered vehicles by 2035.

Several other states have adopted California’s vehicle standards in lieu of federal rules.

The Supreme Court’s ruling does not strike down California’s regulations but affirms that fuel producers have the legal right to challenge the EPA’s approval of them.

The outcome of the case in lower courts could have far-reaching implications for state-level environmental policies and federal regulatory authority.

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