NEW: Trump, Congress BLOCK California’s EV mandate

The joint resolution was signed by the president after a number of remarks he made at a signing ceremony, per the New York Times. As he spoke to a crowd in the East Room of the White House, Trump said that the plan from California would have been a "disaster" that would "effectively abolish the internal combustion engine, which most people prefer."

In addition to blocking the EV mandate from California, it blocks the state from mandating that all new trucks sold in the state be electric by 2025. Another measure in the joint resolution halts the California government from putting limits on emissions of nitrogen oxide emitted from cars and trucks.

The signing was part of three Congressional Review Act resolutions. “We officially rescue the US auto industry from destruction by terminating California’s electric vehicle mandate, once and for all,” Trump said at the Oval Office with House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA).

Before the signing, Trump gave the speech in the East Room, where he also brought Tesla founder Elon Musk, who has been an ally to the president previously. However, after a feud between the two figures, Trump said during his remarks that Musk "doesn't like [him] so much" as he made the comments on the EV mandate.

The signing of the legislation also reverses the Biden administration's decision that allowed for California to move towards the ban. The signing also comes at a time where California Governor Gavin Newsom has grown frustrated over other moves from Trump, including the deployment of the National Guard to quell violent riots in LA.

Newsom responded to the legislation, "Trump’s all-out assault on California continues, and this time he’s destroying our clean air and America’s global competitiveness in the process."

However, John Bozzella, the chief executive of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, told reporters, “Everyone agreed these EV sales mandates were never achievable and wildly unrealistic. Customers don’t want the government telling them what kind of car to buy."

The move from Trump is a fulfilment of campaign promise he made in the lead-up to the 2024 election.