Federal Judge Grapples With California Emissions Standards Repealed by Congress

Congress took away a waiver last year that allowed the state to have its own regulatory rules for tailpipe emissions.

Traffic moves along Interstate 405 in Los Angeles on Feb. 13, 2026. Apu Gomes/Getty Images

A federal judge on Feb. 19 questioned the argument by California and other states seeking to override a congressional decision rescinding a waiver that allowed the Golden State to impose tough vehicle emissions standards.

In Oakland, California, Judge Haywood S. Gilliam Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California suggested both that California was making a legally untested argument and that there was “some irregularity” in the process Congress used to take away California’s power to administer its own emissions regime.