California Faces Federal Lawsuit Over Gas Prices, Car Pollution Laws

The Trump administration – on March 12, 2026 – filed a new lawsuit against California to prevent the state from implementing a law that would end the sale of gasoline-powered vehicles in California by 2035. The lawsuit was filed by the US Department of Justice on behalf of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The lawsuit is the latest in a series of steps the Trump administration has taken over the past few years to block what it calls the “Illegal EV Mandate.” Trump previously – in 2025 – signed a bill that would have blocked California from implementing a similar law.

For those who don’t know, California’s EV mandate comes courtesy of the state’s Advanced Clean Cars (ACC II) law, approved by the California Air Resources Board in 2022. As part of this goal, California aims for 35% of all vehicles sold in the state to be zero-emission vehicles by 2026, before reaching its final goal of 203% of Trump’s 2000 content. The federal government and the state government are focusing on two important things. While the Trump administration asserts that California’s stricter mandate will force automakers to retool their production lines, raising vehicle prices nationwide, the State government maintains that these stricter measures are necessary to curb vehicle pollution.

The Trump administration has also called California’s actions “legally abusive,” arguing that the state lacks the authority to enforce the EV mandate. It is interesting to note that shortly before the Harris-Biden administration left office, they approved the California government’s request to grant an exception to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to adopt the (ACC II) law. The move was quickly blocked by the Trump administration shortly after taking office.

Responding to the new lawsuit filed by the Federal Government, the representative of the office of the Governor of California Gavin Newsom confirmed that they will take steps to fight the case and that they do not intend to “back down”. The representative also criticized the Trump administration for this new case, while adding that the US President is handing over the future of the American auto industry to China. They also described the new lawsuit as “unfair” and added that California will continue its efforts to become a major player in the global clean car market.

In addition to accusing California of passing a law that is not allowed by the state government, the Trump administration also blamed California’s policies for leading the State to have the most expensive gasoline prices in the US. Although the national average price per gallon of gasoline hovers around the $3.60 mark throughout the US, the same in California is about $5.37, making it the state with the highest gas prices in the country.

On the other hand, California has blamed Trump’s recent actions in the Middle East as the reason for the recent increase in gas prices across the country. The ongoing conflict in Iran and the situation in the Strait of Hormuz has led to a nearly 20 percent increase in gas prices across the US, and a gas station in Los Angeles is reportedly charging people $8.21 a liter, making it, perhaps, the most expensive gas station in the US.