President Donald Trump is getting revenge on California and their liberal policies—and, naturally, the environment will be paying the price. Multiple outlets are reporting that the Trump administration plans to withdraw a special waiver that allows California to set its own, stricter fuel emissions standards, which dates back to the Clean Air Act in 1970. According to the New York Times, the move is expected to be announced Wednesday at a private event at Environmental Protection Agency's Washington headquarters, as Trump simultaneously makes a swing through California to attend fundraisers in Los Angeles and Silicon Valley.

The move to punish California comes as the state publicly spars with Trump over the White House's plan to roll back Obama-era emissions standards, which analyses suggest would lead to more deaths, higher prices for consumers, and emit somewhere between 321 million and 931 million metric tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere through 2035. Faced with the possibility of two competing fuel standards—the one set by the federal government, and the one set by California and followed by an additional 13 states—automakers have so far seemed to flock to California's side. The auto industry has told Trump that it doesn't actually want the weaker emission standards he's proposed, and Ford Motor Company, Volkswagen of America, Honda, and BMW all signed a pact with California to follow their standards. Naturally, Trump has not been thrilled with their response. After the president went on a Twitter tirade against the automakers that claimed their alliance with California would have Henry Ford “rolling over” in his grave, the Department of Justice launched an antitrust inquiry into the companies that signed California's pact, which has reportedly deterred other car manufacturers from signing on.

The decision to revoke California's emission-setting authority has reportedly been long planned as part of the Trump administration's rollback plan—but, as things stand now, it may be the only part of the plan that actually comes to pass. While the initial idea was apparently to roll back the standards and take away California's waiver concurrently, the administration is fast-tracking the California part of their strategy while leaving the current emissions standards intact for now. Rather than a sign that the White House is rethinking a plan that no one but the oil industry actually wants, though, the move to hold off on the weakened standards is seemingly due to the administration's incompetence, as, per the Times, the rollback “has become plagued with delays as staff members struggled to prepare adequate legal, technical or scientific justifications for the move.” Back in August, the Times noted that three senior officials working on the standards had recently left the administration, leaving the project in the hands of a 29-year-old aide “with limited experience in climate change policy,” and staff at the EPA and Department of Transportation tasked with writing the new rule were reportedly “struggling to assemble a coherent technical and scientific analysis required by law to implement a rule change of this scope.” By taking on California, then, the Trump administration can publicly show they're doing something about their rollback plan—even if the specifics of the plan itself are seemingly in total disarray.

Taking away the authority that California has enjoyed for decades to set its own emissions standards, of course, also gives Trump the added bonus of landing a blow on one of his administration's biggest rivals, which has fought him on issues ranging from the environment to immigration. (The president is also currently targeting California by vowing to help its homelessness crisis, which appears to primarily be an attempt to draw attention to liberal cities' failings.) But the state is vowing to fight back—even if a court win upholding their independent authority could result in two competing emissions standards. “While the White House clings to the past, automakers and American families embrace cleaner cars,” California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said in a statement. “The evidence is irrefutable: today's clean car standards are achievable, science-based, and a boon for hardworking American families and public health. It’s time to remove your blinders, President Trump, and acknowledge that the only person standing in the way of progress is you. You have no basis and no authority to pull this waiver. We’re ready to fight for a future that you seem unable to comprehend; we’ll see you in court if you stand in our way.”

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