EPA Pushes Back on Major Questions in Car Rules Litigation Brief

The Biden administration defended its authority to issue tougher vehicle emission standards in its opening brief against a legal challenge over car rules led by states and fuel producers.

Republican-led states—including Texas, Alabama, Alaska, and Arkansas—don’t have standing to sue over the rules since it is only manufacturers that are being regulated, the Justice Department wrote in the brief filed on Feb. 24 in the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

“Notably, automakers have intervened on EPA’s behalf to defend standards that regulate them,” according to the brief. “Petitioners, in contrast, are States, fuel producers, and ...