States Sue Trump Administration Over Rollback of Auto Emissions Rules

A highway in California

A coalition of 17 states and the District of Columbia sued the Trump administration on Tuesday over its plan to weaken federal auto emissions standards.

The states, which are led by California and include Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania, said that the Environmental Protection Agency’s attempts to roll back emissions standards were unlawful and a violation of the Clean Air Act.

“States representing 140 million Americans are getting together to sue Outlaw Pruitt – not Administrator Pruitt, but Outlaw Pruitt,” said Governor Jerry Brown of California at a news conference Tuesday, referring to Scott Pruitt, the head of the EPA.

“This is about health, it’s about life and death,” the governor added.

The move comes after the Trump administration announced it would propose less stringent standards to replace those put into place by the Obama administration in 2012 that would double the average fuel economy of new vehicles by 2025.

(Photo: Accura Media Group)