Gavin Newsom Threatens Retaliation if Trump Administration Cancels Electric Vehicle Tax Credits

California Governor Gavin Newsom (D-Calif.) has threatened to take action in the event that the incoming second Trump Administration cancels the Biden-Harris Administration’s tax credits for electric vehicles (EVs).

As Fox News reports, Biden had enacted a tax credit of up to $7,500 to incentivize purchases of so-called “green” vehicles, as part of his broader agenda of combatting alleged “global warming.” But President-elect Trump has vowed to cancel these tax credits, among many other unpopular and fiscally wasteful “green” policies, upon retaking office.

In response, Newsom has pledged to offer the exact same tax credit at the state level in the event that the federal tax credit is canceled.

“Consumers continue to prove the skeptics wrong – zero-emission vehicles are here to stay,” Newsom falsely claimed in a statement on Monday. “We will intervene if the Trump Administration eliminates the federal tax credit, doubling down on our commitment to clean air and green jobs in California. We’re not turning back on a clean transportation future — we’re going to make it more affordable for people to drive vehicles that don’t pollute.”

Newsom would relaunch the tax credit through funding from the Clean Vehicle Rebate Program, the state program that incentivized EV purchases; the program had shut down in November of 2023, but Newsom plans to revive it in order to keep the tax credit alive.

Governor Newsom, who is considered a leading potential candidate for the Democratic nomination for President in 2028, has already held an emergency special session of the state legislature to plan out the ways his state can “resist” the policies of the incoming Trump Administration.

Multiple real-world attempts have proven that, even with financial incentives, EV mandates are universally unpopular. Multiple auto companies have canceled or severely scaled back their EV operations due to a major lack of demand from consumers, who continue to prefer normal, gas-powered vehicles over faulty and unreliable electric ones.