The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a request from the Trump administration to pause a case concerning California’s vehicle emissions standards. This decision comes as President Trump’s team considers potential changes to policies that are central to the ongoing legal dispute.
The court declined to stop further proceedings on the case and two others related to challenges over the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rules. While the court has agreed to hear these cases, no arguments have been heard yet.
However, the Supreme Court did agree to pause a separate case involving a rule from President Joe Biden’s administration. This rule would make it easier for students defrauded by their colleges to get loan forgiveness.
The court did not offer any explanation for its decisions, issuing brief orders for each case.
Legal experts anticipate that Trump’s administration may change positions on various cases now that he has returned to office. These could include cases about Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for transgender minors and federal regulations on “ghost guns,” although these cases were not paused by the court.
In December, the Supreme Court agreed to review California’s dispute over vehicle emission standards. This case centers on a 2022 decision by the EPA to allow California to set its own vehicle emission rules, even though they are stricter than federal standards. California was granted an exemption to the Clean Air Act by the Biden administration.
The decision reversed a 2019 ruling by the Trump administration, which had rescinded California’s waiver.
The lawsuit was filed by Valero Energy and several fuel industry groups. They challenged the EPA’s waiver decision, which allows California to set stricter tailpipe emissions limits and a zero-emission vehicle mandate until 2025. Normally, states and cities are prohibited from enforcing their own emissions rules, but California has special authority granted by Congress.
The Trump administration had asked the Supreme Court to delay the case while the EPA reexamines its 2022 decision. Acting Solicitor General Sarah Harris stated in January that the agency was reconsidering the decision’s foundation after the administration change.
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