‘Novel situation’: GOP leader Thune admits Senate just made up new rules to overturn California’s clean car requirements

The Senate voted Thursday to eliminate a California emissions standards waiver in a 51-44 decision that required Republicans to effectively circumvent their own parliamentary rules. The vote targeted Biden-era environmental policies that allowed California to set stricter vehicle emissions standards than federal requirements.

According to Politico, all Republican senators supported the disapproval resolution under the Congressional Review Act, while Democrats opposed it except for Senator Elissa Slotkin of Michigan. The action represents the first of three planned attacks on clean vehicle rules that California passed and the Biden administration approved in its final months. These regulations include requirements to phase out new gasoline-powered cars by 2035 and mandate increasing percentages of zero-emissions heavy-duty vehicles over the next decade.

The vote occurred despite significant procedural obstacles that created weeks of internal Republican deliberations. The Government Accountability Office determined that the California waivers did not qualify for reversal under the Congressional Review Act, and Senate parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough supported this assessment. The Congressional Review Act typically allows senators to overturn administrative rulemaking with simple majority votes, but only when specific criteria are met.

Republicans change Senate rules to bypass parliamentary guidance

Majority Leader John Thune acknowledged the unprecedented nature of the situation, stating that when the Senate faces a ‘novel situation’ with disagreement among members, it is appropriate for the Senate to speak as a body to the question. This approach effectively transferred authority for determining Congressional Review Act qualifications from the Government Accountability Office and parliamentarian to the Senate itself.

The Republican leadership spent weeks convincing their members that the fight represented a question about Senate power aimed at checking the Government Accountability Office rather than directly overruling the parliamentarian. Many Republicans expressed discomfort with the idea of directly overturning parliamentary guidance. Senator Susan Collins noted she was glad the leadership found an approach that avoided voting to overturn the parliamentarian.

Despite Republican efforts to frame the action as procedural rather than substantive, Democrats characterized the move as deploying the nuclear option, a term both parties use to describe changes in Senate rules. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer argued that Republicans crossed a point of no return by weaponizing the Congressional Review Act and expanding what the chamber can do with a majority threshold. Democrats are now planning both immediate and long-term retaliation, including Senator Alex Padilla’s pledge to slow-walk four Environmental Protection Agency nominees and discussions about bringing their own disapproval resolutions under the Congressional Review Act.

The precedent-setting vote raises concerns about future Republican actions on their party-line domestic policy bill, which passed the House Thursday morning. Democrats worry that sidestepping parliamentary guidance on emissions standards could make Republicans more likely to bypass the parliamentarian on budget reconciliation rules governing their broader legislative agenda when it reaches the Senate floor next month.