Republicans on Capitol Hill are irate because the general counsel of the Government Accountability Office (GAO), who denied Trump’s request to overturn California’s strict gas emissions regulations, formerly oversaw DEI programs for the GAO.
Republican lawmakers have brushed off the ruling by GAO General Counsel Edda Emmanuelli Perez, citing her tenure as the agency’s “Managing Director of Opportunity and Inclusiveness (O&I).” Advise senior staff on equal employment opportunities and promote a “work environment that is fair, unbiased and inclusive.” These are the responsibilities of the O&I office, according to the GAO’s official website.
An extreme leftist whose life’s work is to spread DEI drivel is attempting to sabotage the economic success of the United States. I am taken aback. Sen. Jim Banks (R-Indiana) sent a statement to HeadlinesForever Digital in which he urged the immediate removal of corrupt government officials.
Some Republicans call Emmanuelli Perez’s move “DEI nonsense,” while others argue that it lacks “democratic legitimacy” to prohibit gas automobiles in California without a referendum. Whatever the GAO decides, Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-Calif.) told HeadlinesForever Digital that the House will proceed with a Congressional Review Act resolution.
It is against common sense and fundamental principles of democratic legitimacy for the GAO to conclude that California may prohibit 95% of the state’s vehicles without a vote of the Legislature and without redress from Congress. In a statement, Kiley said that their plan to pursue a Congressional Review Act resolution to overturn this ridiculous rule and bring choice back to California residents will be proceeding.
In a statement to HeadlinesForever Digital, Emmanuelli Perez dispelled Republican claims that she made her ruling on the matter independently by stating that the GAO’s conclusions are “institutional, not individually authored, products.”
We compiled an overview of pertinent, previously decided cases involving the Clean Air Act’s exemptions and the Congressional Review Act in response to a request from Congress. All GAO goods undergo our rigorous quality assurance procedure, so we can confidently stand behind them,” Emmanuelli Perez stated.
In response to a request from Congress, the GAO issued its conclusion earlier this month about the applicability of the CRA to EPA exemptions that enable California to implement its gas vehicle ban for the year 2035.
Congress will not be able to utilize the CRA to reverse California’s ambitious zero-emission targets as the GAO found that the state’s EPA waiver is exempt from its provisions. Regardless of the GAO’s decision, Kiley is determined to proceed with the CRA.
The National Energy Dominance Council, formed last month by Trump and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, will allow the agency to submit policies enacted under the tenure of former President Joe Biden for review by Congress. Those EPA clearances from Biden included “allowing California to preempt federal car and truck standards promulgated by EPA and the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.”
A number of regulations, including “California’s Advanced Clean Cars II, Advanced Clean Trucks, and Omnibus NOx rules,” were included in the EPA waiver that was sent to Congress. The Trump administration claimed that the truck waivers made products and automobiles more expensive, which led to higher prices for Americans.
“Members of Congress were unable to decide on very momentous measures with huge consequences and expenses throughout the whole United States because the Biden administration neglected to deliver rules on California’s exemptions to Congress. In the Oval Office, Zeldin and the president spoke about how the Trump EPA is openly fixing this mistake and respecting the law.
Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Alex Padilla (D-CA), and Adam Schiff (D-CA) asked the GAO for a ruling on the legality of the EPA’s decision to issue California Clean Air Act exemptions after the announcement by Zeldin and Trump.
In support of the GAO’s decision, the Democratic senators criticized the Trump administration for its efforts to repeal the “California emission standards [that] have protected generations of Americans against fossil fuel emissions.”
“By ignoring decades of precedent and the plain text of the Congressional Review Act, the Trump EPA is attempting to sell out our nation’s public health and environmental protections to the same polluting industries that bankrolled much of Trump’s campaign,” the senators said after the GAO’s ruling.
On the other hand, Trump promised throughout his campaign to do away with such rules, and he did just that on his first day back in office by signing an executive order “unleashing American energy.” With the goal of giving consumers more freedom of choice, the “electric vehicle (EV) mandate” was removed by presidential order. On day one, Trump moved to cancel “state emissions waivers that function to limit sales of gasoline-powered automobiles.” This was done with the stroke of a pen, even though the case is still in the hands of Congress.
The elimination of DEI in the federal government was another campaign promise of Trump’s. The federal government’s DEI policies and initiatives from the Biden period were pulled back when Trump signed an executive order “ending radical and wasteful government DEI programs and referencing” on his inauguration day.