With a little more than a month left in his term, President Biden is certainly not holding back from issuing controversial pardons, rules, and waivers as he packs up his belongings before heading back to Delaware.

On December 18, the Biden administration approved two waivers for California’s Advanced Clean Cars II Regulations. Specifically, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) granted “two requests from the California Air Resources Board (CARB) for waivers to implement and enforce its Advanced Clean Cars II (ACC II) regulations for light-duty vehicles, and its ‘Omnibus’ low-NOx regulation for heavy-duty highway and off-road vehicles and engines.”

Although these waivers might seem innocuous, they are extremely far-reaching. In essence, they allow California to ban the sales of all new gasoline-powered automobiles by 2035.

“California has longstanding authority to request waivers from EPA to protect its residents from dangerous air pollution coming from mobile sources like cars and trucks,” EPA Administrator Michael Regan said. “Today’s actions follow through on EPA’s commitment to partner with states to reduce emissions and act on the threat of climate change.”

Unsurprisingly, California Gov. Gavin Newsom fully supports the EPA waiver. “Clean cars are here to stay,” Newsom said after the official announcement. “The Biden-Harris Administration reaffirmed what we’ve known for decades -- California can rise to the challenge of protecting our people by cleaning our air and cutting pollution.”

Of course, Newsom also used the announcement as an opportunity to needle president-elect Donald Trump, who adamantly opposes electric vehicle (EV) mandates and bans on gasoline-powered cars.

“Naysayers like President-elect Trump would prefer to side with the oil industry over consumers and American automakers, but California will continue fostering new innovations in the market,” Newsom gloated.

“With more makes and models available than ever before, millions of Californians have already made the switch to clean cars.  Automakers and manufacturers have made it clear they intend to stick with California and consumers as we move toward clean cars that save people money.”

Not so fast, Gavin.

Actually, the vast majority of Americans do not want to purchase and drive EVs. In fact, as of mid-2024, less than three in 10 Americans would seriously consider buying an EV.

Moreover, the notion that EVs are better for the environment is preposterous on its face. While it’s true that EVs produce less tailpipe emissions than gasoline-powered cars, it is also true that the EV manufacturing process has a much larger carbon footprint. What’s more, EVs run on batteries that are nearly impossible to recycle, require large amounts of lithium and cobalt, and rely upon the electric grid -- which is still mostly powered by fossil fuels -- for charging.

Newsom’s assertion that EVs are more affordable than gas-powered cars also does not pass the smell test. Neither does his absurd claim that automakers and consumers support the EV transition.

If it were true that consumers and automakers were all-in on the EV bandwagon, then why do so many EVs remain unsold, cluttering car lots?

Despite generous subsidies, automakers are having trouble selling EVs for the simple fact that the American people do not want to buy them.

Aside from the high sticker price, most Americans remain skeptical of buying an EV for several understandable reasons. From range anxiety to concern over charge wait times, Americans in general know that EVs are not yet ready for primetime.

Perhaps this explains why the EPA granted these waivers to California. Maybe it was a desperate attempt by the Biden administration to placate climate alarmists as he exits the White House.

Whatever the reason, the good news is that these waivers will be short-lived. It is practically assured that Trump will reverse them as soon as he enters the Oval Office.

Trump will not only pump the brakes on the EV mandates and subsidies. He is apt to take a wrecking ball to Biden’s entire climate alarmist agenda. Very soon, Trump will resurrect his American energy dominance policy portfolio, which will lay waste to Biden’s net zero folly.

So, fear not. The days of the federal government telling you what type of car you can buy or what appliances you can use in your home will end very soon. Sorry, Gavin; but Trump will get the last laugh when he revokes these ludicrous waivers and brings the out-of-control federal bureaucracy to heel.

Chris Talgo (ctalgo@heartland.org) is editorial director at The Heartland Institute.

Image: Pexels/Kindel Media