The Senate on Thursday blocked California’s landmark plan to phase out the sale of new gasoline-powered vehicles, setting up a legal battle that could shape the electric car market in the United States.

The 51-44 vote was a victory for the oil and gas industry and for Republicans who muscled through the vote by deploying an unusual legislative tactic that Democrats denounced as a “nuclear” option that would affect the way the Senate operates way beyond climate policy.

The only Democrat to vote to block the California policy was Sen. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, whose state is the center of the U.S. auto industry. Michigan’s other Democratic senator, Gary Peters, voted with his party. He is not seeking reelection.

Five other senators — three Republicans and two Democrats — did not vote.

The repeal deals a blow to California’s ambition of accelerating the transition to electric vehicles. But the consequences will ripple across the country. That’s because 11 other states intended to follow California’s plan and stop selling new gas-powered cars by 2035. Together, they account for about 40% of the U.S. auto market.

The resolution, which had already been approved by the House, now goes to President Donald Trump’s desk. Trump, who opposes clean energy and has taken particular umbrage at California’s efforts to reduce the use of fossil fuels, is expected to sign it into law.

California leaders have promised to challenge the Senate vote and try to restore the ban. Standing behind a sign saying, “Trump’s GOP is making America Smoggy Again” at a news conference in Sacramento, Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, said repealing the policies would help China in the race to improve vehicle technology.

“This is about our economy. It’s about our health. It’s about our global competitiveness,” Newsom said. “It is, Donald Trump, about our national security, and it’s about our ability to continue to innovate and outpace competition all across the globe.”

California Attorney General Rob Bonta said the state would sue the Trump administration over what he called the “unlawful use” of the procedure Congress deployed to repeal the state’s plan.

“Our lawsuit will be about ensuring California can enforce its state laws,” said Bonta, who is a Democrat. “Under the Clean Air Act, California is allowed to set its own emission requirements.”

The Senate also voted 51-45 to prevent California from requiring that half of all new trucks sold in the state be electric by 2035. And it voted 51-46 to stop the state from limiting emissions of nitrogen oxide from cars and trucks, which can form smog and contributes to respiratory problems like asthma. Both measures already passed the House, and Trump is expected to sign those as well.

California’s auto policies were allowed under permission granted by the Biden administration. The 1970 Clean Air Act specifies that California can receive waivers from the Environmental Protection Agency to enact clean air standards that are tougher than federal limits because the state has historically had the most polluted air in the nation. Federal law also allows other states to adopt California’s standards under certain circumstances.

The state has won scores of such waivers over decades; this was the first time that Congress has struck one down.

Republican leaders did so by using a little-known tool called the Congressional Review Act, despite a ruling from the nonpartisan Senate parliamentarian and an independent watchdog that Congress lacked the legal authority to revoke the waivers.

The CRA allows Congress to overturn a recently passed federal regulation with a simple majority vote instead of a 60-vote threshold. But the Government Accountability Office has issued two legal findings that the California waivers, which apply to only a single state, are not akin to national regulations.

Republicans argued that California would effectively be setting national policy, making it a federal issue since many states would follow suit and auto companies would have to comply with the state’s requirements.

“Over the past two decades, California has used its waiver authority to push its extreme climate policies on the rest of the country, which was never the intent of the Clean Air Act,” said Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va.

Democrats managed to stall, but shortly before midnight Wednesday, Republicans squeaked through a procedural vote that allowed them to fast-track the California repeal.

Democrats accused Republicans of illegally using the statute, and vowed payback.

“Republicans today cross a point of no return for the Senate, expanding what a party can do with a majority threshold,” said Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic leader.

“Republicans should tread very carefully today,” he said. “What goes around comes around.”

Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., has already placed a hold on four EPA nominees awaiting Senate confirmation in retaliation for the Republican vote. This week, he warned that since Republicans are expanding the definition of what can be subject to a quick repeal, “all bets will be off” the next time Democrats hold a majority.

“Think mining permits,” Padilla warned. “Think fossil fuel project approvals. Think LNG export licenses or offshore leases, IRS tax policies, foreign policy, every Project 2025 or DOGE disruption. Every agency action that Democrats don’t like, whether it is a rule or not and no matter how much time has passed, would be fair game.”

Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said the vote would drag the state back to the era when it was perpetually choked by smog.

“California acted to protect its own citizens,” he said. “Do we really want this body with a simple majority vote to eviscerate what the states are doing to protect their own citizens?”