Supreme Court Deals Crushing Blow To California’s EV Mandate
The U.S. Supreme Court delivered a double blow to the left this week, siding against California’s radical climate agenda and reaffirming the authority of federal immigration enforcement.
In a 7-2 ruling, the Court cleared the way for American energy producers to proceed with their lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over its approval of California’s draconian electric vehicle mandates. At issue is Gov. Gavin Newsom’s sweeping plan to ban gas-powered cars and force Californians into “carbon neutrality” by 2035.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh, writing for the majority, shredded the legal shield Democrats have long relied on to protect their climate schemes.
“The government generally may not target a business or industry through stringent and allegedly unlawful regulation, and then evade the resulting lawsuits by claiming that the targets of its regulation should be locked out of court as unaffected bystanders,” Kavanaugh wrote.
The Court also noted the EPA has repeatedly shifted its legal position to justify Newsom’s mandates.
“This case involves California’s 2012 request for EPA approval of new California regulations,” Kavanaugh explained. “As relevant here, those regulations generally require automakers (i) to limit average greenhouse gas emissions across their fleets of new motor vehicles sold in the State and (ii) to manufacture a certain percentage of electric vehicles as part of their vehicle fleets.”
Chet Thompson, president and CEO of American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers — the group behind the lawsuit — celebrated the ruling.
“The Supreme Court put to rest any question about whether fuel manufacturers have a right to challenge unlawful electric vehicle mandates,” Thompson told the Daily Caller. “California’s EV mandates are unlawful and bad for our country. Congress did not give California special authority to regulate greenhouse gases, mandate electric vehicles or ban new gas car sales, all of which the state has attempted to do through its intentional misreading of statute.”
This marks the second major defeat for Newsom at the nation’s highest court. Earlier this month, President Donald Trump signed three resolutions rolling back key parts of California’s climate crusade — a devastating blow to the governor’s national ambitions.
ICE Authority Strengthened
In another victory for the rule of law, the Supreme Court sided 6-3 with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), restoring the agency’s ability to use common-sense methods to locate and remove illegal aliens.
The ruling put on hold a lower court’s order that restricted ICE from conducting “roving” sweeps in Los Angeles neighborhoods, where agents relied on practical criteria such as language, job sites, and patterns of illegal entry to identify suspects.
Justice Kavanaugh again weighed in, defending ICE’s approach as both lawful and reasonable.
“It is appropriate to conduct brief interviews with individuals who meet several ‘common sense’ criteria for being in the country illegally, including those who work in day labor or construction and do not speak English well or at all,” he wrote.
The liberal justices — Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor, and Ketanji Brown Jackson — dissented, arguing that immigration enforcement based on such criteria could lead to racial profiling.
But for Americans concerned with border security, the Court’s decision reaffirms that ICE can do its job without being handcuffed by activist judges.
Conclusion
Together, these rulings underscore a major course correction under President Trump’s leadership: the restoration of constitutional limits on government overreach and the defense of America’s sovereignty against both radical climate policy and unchecked illegal immigration.