California faces intervention from trade organizations as it sues over Congress’ use of the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to block the state’s electric vehicle (EV) mandates, citing constitutional issues. A major pro-business group, the American Free Enterprise Chamber of Commerce (AmFree), has joined the lawsuit on the side of the federal government. The group, which is an alternative to the older U.S. Chamber of Commerce and advocates for limited government, argues that California and other states cannot challenge the CRA and that the mandate restrictions are detrimental to American commerce.
AmFree and several other agricultural and trade organizations supporting its intervention plan to argue that California and the blue states leading the legal action are preempted from enforcing the EV mandates. These groups argue that the CRA itself shields the situation from judicial review. ‘The entire complaint should be dismissed with prejudice,’ AmFree stated in its filing. The company also claims that Congress properly used its power to invalidate the Biden-era waivers granted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to California, describing the EV mandates as ‘radical’ and commercially damaging.
Legal representative for the case, Michael Buschbacher, a partner at Boyden Gray, emphasized that when it comes to challenging CRAs like the ones passed to blunt EV mandates, the law is clear. ‘Congress said there’s no judicial review for CRA resolutions. So that alone should end things,’ Buschbacher explained. He noted that lawsuits against the government often drag on through multiple presidential administrations, and having AmFree and its trade association partners as intervenors helps prevent ‘collusive settlements’ which can happen when new officeholders bring shifting priorities or legal interpretations.
California Governor Gavin Newsom and California Attorney General Robert Bonta defended the merits of their suit, claiming that EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin and the Trump administration defied decades of precedent by approving Congress’ CRAs. Newsom expressed concern over Trump’s actions, arguing that they undermined California’s clean air authority and global competitiveness. ‘Trump’s all-out assault on California continues – and this time he’s destroying our clean air and America’s global competitiveness in the process,’ Newsom said.
The lawsuit has sparked debate about the separation of powers and judicial overreach. Buschbacher indicated that the plaintiffs are trying to get the judiciary to step out of line into second-guessing the core parts of the institutional prerogatives of the House and Senate. ‘I’m not aware of any lawsuit that has tried to go this far [regarding] the separation of powers,’ Buschbacher added. ‘This is like squarely, [Congress passed the law. You can’t undo that law unless it’s unconstitutional and there’s nothing unconstitutional here.]’
Several blue states, including Pennsylvania, remain tied to some of California’s EV mandates. A trucking company owner warned journalist John Stossel in a recent interview that without breaking from the Golden State, the industry would have problems. Virginia is one state that was able to break with California by finding a technicality in its statute, allowing the state to exit the pact previously approved by former Gov. Ralph Northam.