On April 7, I reported that the Trump administration's Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was poised to reverse a Biden EPA allowance for California to impose a virtual ban on selling or buying internal combustion engine cars by 2035. I also noted that the California diktats would have inspired at least eleven other states to follow suit. Though the Trump move would not end other state-level mandates or end the EPA (ending both would be much more in line with the U.S. Constitution) it is a major change in approach, and offers promise that numerous states might stop racing down the dead-end street of dangerous, inefficient electric vehicle mandates.
And now, even though the Trump EPA has not finished the process of reversing the Biden EPA move, the new administration’s change appears to have inspired Maryland to disconnect from the California pipe dream.
Leslie Eastman reports for Legal Insurrection that, in fact, Maryland could become the third of the eleven “lockstep” states momentarily to disconnect from the CA EV madness.
“In the summer of 2024, I reported that the state of Connecticut opted to forgo adopting California-style electric vehicle (EV) mandates. Additionally, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin put the brakes on his state’s EV mandate at the end of the year.
Another state is now reconsidering its EV mandate. Maryland’s governor has delayed its attempt to be East Coast California.”
Which might come as a relief to many Marylanders and those outside the state who are concerned about freedom, and yet it does not address the deeper moral question of whether it is appropriate for a group of state apparatchiks to tell other people what kinds of cars they can sell or buy.
Adds Eastman:
“The Maryland Freedom Caucus is claiming victory after Governor Wes Moore issued an executive order last week delaying implementation of California’s Advanced Clean Cars (CACC) 11 mandate by two years. The order comes in direct response to the Freedom Caucus’s January 16, 2025 letter calling for Maryland to fully withdraw from the program.”
And while this only is a delay, it signals a significant change in attitude, and, perhaps, in the federal pork parade that has showered billions on “green technology” ranging from electric bus companies, to “green steel,” to “carbon capture,” to “wind farms,” and more – all of which have arisen without any sign of free-market interest, and all of which have ridden the magic carpet of fanciful “climate change” propaganda.
Eastman notes:
“’This is a major win for the people of Maryland,’ said Delegate Matt Morgan, Chair of the Maryland Freedom Caucus. ‘We sounded the alarm early, and now Governor Moore is backing down. This delay is proof that the Freedom Caucus is delivering real results for working families and small businesses.'
The CACC 11 mandate, modeled after California’s extreme environmental regulations, would have forced 43% of all new cars sold in Maryland by model year 2027 to be electric—despite EVs making up less than 10% of vehicles on Maryland roads and consumer demand continuing to drop. The Freedom Caucus’s letter warned that the mandate would cripple local auto dealerships, burden consumers with unaffordable vehicle choices, and force residents to rely on a charging infrastructure that does not yet exist.”
And it is on that last point that Trump Executive Branch muscle might achieve some practical results.
Related: Senate, House Republicans Aim to Overturn California's Electric Vehicle Mandate
Overall, of course, Mr. Trump and everyone who works for the federal government are supposed to operate in accord with the US Constitution, not the pretense of political posturing, so this federal leverage over “charging infrastructure” ought not exist, because there isn’t supposed to be any federal power to help or hinder electric power lines in states.
But on the immediate battlefield, Trump’s ability to stop the boondoggle of the “charging station” subsidies could be key to ending the state EV mandates.
Eastman notes that Maryland Governor Moore, a Democrat, is upset, because Trump might not fund the installation of charging stations on which EVs would rely.
“’There are indications that the policies of the current federal administration will greatly impact … compliance,’ he said. The order noted that the Department of Transportation has held back funding under former president Joe Biden’s $7.5 billion program to build a network of EV chargers across the country.
That program, the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program, was designed to push billions of dollars in federal taxpayer funds to state governments for the purpose of constructing EV charging stations. But the program has faced widespread criticism for producing just a handful of stations over the course of three years and, in one of his first actions, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy froze funding for the program and vowed to ‘recalibrate’ implementation.”
The key is freedom. If Joe Biden wanted to get together with some of his friends and some of Hunter’s global business pals to start a $7.5 billion electric vehicle and infrastructure company, he is free to do so. But it is immoral for any person to impose his will on others – others who not only have a moral prerogative to control their own lives, but who, in making their own decisions, offer market data that inspires efficiency, development, and better living standards.
So far, that market data – even after all the government manipulation and subsidization – indicates a wide-scale rejection of the “electric vehicle” approach.
So, Trump has some cards to play in this troubling game, and he might be able to stop the slow roll towards an EV nightmare of expense, inconvenience, environmental degradation, and dangerous fires.
But, as mentioned, they keys to this ride are freedom and the rules of the Constitution. If Trump uses those, he can restart a major sector of the economy – a sector that political forces have been keen on turning off.