Ricketts Slams EPA for Approving California’s Ban on Gas Cars: “Delusional”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Pete Ricketts (R-NE), Ranking Member of the Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Clean Air, Climate, and Nuclear Safety, slammed the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) after it approved California’s plan to ban the sale of gas-powered cars by 2035.

“EPA bureaucrats shouldn’t approve such a reckless mandate in the closing days of this failed administration,” Ricketts said. “California’s mandate restricts freedom and ignores the high cost of EVs. It also disregards supply chain and infrastructure challenges and excludes American biofuels. I expect President Trump to revoke this delusional decision. Congress must pass the Preserving Choice in Vehicles Act to stop EPA bureaucrats from doing this again.”

BACKGROUND

California had applied for a waiver to implement its “Advanced Clean Cars II” regulation. This regulation requires 35% of car sales to be zero-emission vehicles in model year 2026, 68% by 2030, and 100% by 2035. This waiver came under a provision of the Clean Air Act of 1970. Eleven other states and the District of Columbia, representing about 30% of the U.S. car market, are adopting California’s rule. 

Ricketts has led the opposition to the Biden-Harris EV mandates. He led bipartisan Congressional Review Act legislation to overturn the EPA’s requirement that two-thirds of all new cars and trucks sold in the U.S. be EVs by 2032. He introduced the Flex Fuel Fairness Act to expand access to flex fuel vehicles and protect consumer choice. Ricketts also co-leads the Preserving Choice in Vehicles Act.