President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that his administration is revoking California's authority to set auto mileage standards stricter than those issued by federal regulators.

In a tweet, Trump said his move would result in less expensive and safer cars. He insisted that new cars would be cleaner, even as they burn more gasoline than they would have under the Obama-era fuel efficiency standards.However, U.S. automakers contend that without a substantial increase in fuel efficiency, their vehicles will be less competitive globally, which could potentially result in job losses.

Trump's move comes after the Justice Department opened an antitrust investigation into a deal between California and four automakers for tougher pollution and related mileage requirements than those sought by Trump. Trump also has sought to relax Obama-era federal mileage standards nationwide, weakening a key effort by his Democratic predecessor to slow climate change.

Top California officials and environmental groups pledged legal action to stop the rollback. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler told the National Automobile Dealers Association on Tuesday the agency's goal is to establish one nationwide set of fuel-economy standards.

With files from the Associated Press

AirTalk reached out to Senator Diane Feinstein and Attorney General Xavier Becerra, but did not receive a response to our request.

Guest:

energy reporter with Politico; he tweets