EPA moves public hearings on its weak clean car standards to friendlier locales

After weakening its clean car standards earlier this month, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency faced a wave of backlash and the promise of drawn-out legal battles. The agency apparently can't take the heat, evidenced by its sudden shuffling of scheduled public hearings on the matter. Three hearings previously set for September in Detroit, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles have been canceled, with two new ones now taking place in Pittsburgh and Fresno, California. The EPA did not give any reason for the change, but the move would conveniently avoid some of the proposed rollback's biggest critics. Major automakers like Ford, based in the Detroit area, have spoken out in support of the original clean car standards—a blow to the Trump EPA’s own narrative. And in Los Angeles, a city plagued by smog, the mayor is now leading a coalition denouncing weaker pollution rules. California’s governor is also ready for a fight to protect the higher standards set by his state (and the 13 states who have followed suit). The agency acting administrator, Andrew Wheeler, may be trying to avoid a PR nightmare by swapping venues, but it's not going to keep his critics quiet.