WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate voted on Thursday to block California’s first-in-the nation rule banning the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035, acting to kill the nation’s most aggressive effort to transition toward electric vehicles as President Donald Trump’s administration has doubled down on fossil fuels.

California’s authority to set environmental rules that are tougher than national standards had never been challenged by Congress. Until now.

The U.S. Senate on Thursday voted to bar California's landmark plan to end the sale of gasoline-only vehicles by 2035 that has been adopted by 11 other states representing a third of the U.S. auto market.