California Facing Federal Lawsuit Over Gas Prices, Car Pollution Laws

The Trump administration — on March 12, 2026 — filed a fresh lawsuit against California to prevent the state from implementing a law that could end gasoline-powered car sales in California by 2035. The suit was filed by the U.S. Department of Justice on behalf of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The lawsuit is the latest in a series of steps the Trump administration has taken over the past few years to block what it refers to as an "Illegal EV Mandate." Trump has previously —in 2025 — signed a bill that would block California from implementing the same law.

For those unaware, California's EV mandate comes courtesy of the state's Advanced Clean Cars (ACC II) law, approved by the California Air Resources Board in 2022. As part of this goal, California aimed to have 35% of all cars sold in the state be zero-emission vehicles by 2026, before reaching its eventual target of 100% by 2035. The bone of contention between the Trump-led Federal government and the State Government centers around two main aspects. While the Trump administration asserts that California's stringent mandate would force carmakers to revamp their production lines, effectively raising car prices across the country, the State government contends that such stringent methods are necessary to curb vehicular pollution.

The Trump administration has also termed California's actions "regulatory overreach," asserting that the state lacks the authority to enforce such an EV mandate. It is interesting to note that just before the Harris-Biden administration left office, they approved the California government's request to grant an exception from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to adopt the (ACC II) law. This move was quickly blocked by the Trump administration soon after he assumed office.

Reacting to the fresh lawsuit filed by the Federal Government, a representative from California Governor Gavin Newsom's office confirmed that they would be taking measures to fight the lawsuit and that they do not intend to "back down". The representative also criticized the Trump administration over the fresh lawsuit, while adding that the U.S. President is surrendering the future of the U.S. automobile industry to China. They also described the new lawsuit as "meritless" and added that California will continue its efforts to become a major player in the global clean vehicle market.

In addition to blaming California for passing a law that the State government isn't allowed to, the Trump administration also accused California's policies of leading to the State having the most expensive fuel prices in the U.S. While the national average price per gallon for gasoline hovers around the $3.60 mark across the U.S., the same for California is around $5.37, making it the state with the highest gas prices in the country.

California, on the other hand, has blamed Trump's latest actions in the Middle East as the reason for the recent increase in gas prices across the country. The ongoing conflict in Iran and the situation in the Strait of Hormuz have led to a roughly 20% spike in gas prices across the U.S., with one gas station in Los Angeles reportedly charging people $8.21 a gallon, making it, perhaps, the most expensive gas station in the U.S.