Trump Just Ended the Rule That Let California Decide What Parts You Can Put in Your Car
US Political Daily – A Montana man faced federal criminal prosecution for fixing his own diesel truck.
Now Trump is making sure the same government that came after him can never come after you.
He just signed an order stripping California of the power to decide what goes under the hood of every car in America.
Biden Gave California a Monopoly on Aftermarket Parts Nationwide
California ran the country’s auto parts market for decades – and Washington let it happen.
California’s Air Resources Board – a state regulatory body accountable to no one outside California – held the sole certification authority for aftermarket parts used in vehicle repairs across all fifty states.
That certification process was, in EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin’s words, “backlogged and faulty.”
Parts manufacturers waiting on CARB approval watched months turn into years.
Independent shops wanting to use affordable third-party components were forced to choose between expensive dealer parts and the legal risk of going uncertified.
Biden’s EPA made it worse.
His administration’s enforcement posture made CARB certification the only practical path for any repair touching an emissions system – which left independent shops and individual owners with no realistic alternative to dealer pricing.
Regular Americans trying to fix their own vehicles were one federal inspector away from prosecution under the Clean Air Act.
Trump Signs Right to Repair Order and Ends the CARB Bottleneck
On Monday, Trump signed a presidential memorandum titled “Lowering the Cost of Living by Promoting the Freedom to Fix” – and the title says exactly what it means.
The order directs Zeldin to issue guidance within thirty days clarifying what emissions repairs vehicle owners can legally perform themselves, consistent with the Clean Air Act.
It orders the EPA to create alternative certification pathways for aftermarket parts – so that CARB is no longer the only gatekeeper deciding what goes under the hood of an American’s truck.
It instructs the EPA to stop treating American car owners like criminals.
“We are not going to be going after people who are fixing their own vehicle, like past administrations have,” Zeldin said at the Oval Office signing.
Trump was blunt about the injustice.
“I noticed they were arresting people for fixing their car,” Trump told reporters. “That’s not even believable.”
A Montana man named Cody Lake faced federal criminal prosecution under the Clean Air Act for modifying the emissions system on his own diesel truck.
The DOJ under Biden pursued the case.
In January, Trump’s Justice Department announced it would no longer criminally prosecute cases like Lake’s.
Monday’s order extends that principle across the entire auto repair market.
How Lower Auto Repair Costs Reach Every Car Owner in America
Trump signed a nearly identical directive in February targeting farm equipment.
That order saved farmers an estimated $33,000 per repair on average by freeing them from manufacturer-controlled service monopolies.
Auto repair economics work the same way.
The aftermarket auto parts industry supports a $337 billion annual economy and keeps 75 percent of post-warranty vehicle repairs out of dealerships.
Every time a shade tree mechanic installs a certified part at half the dealer price, that is money staying in an American family’s pocket – not flowing to a manufacturer’s service department.
CARB’s certification backlog was a toll booth on that entire system – independent parts manufacturers couldn’t get approval, and small repair shops couldn’t source affordable certified components.
Owners who knew their vehicles better than any dealer tech were treated as suspects under a federal environmental law written to reduce smog – not punish competent mechanics.
Farm equipment in February, automobiles in June – a White House that has now twice used executive authority to return ownership rights to the people who actually own things.
SF Source US Political Daily Jun 2026