COMMENT | The morning of April 23, 2025, saw the usual hushed atmosphere at the Supreme Court of the United States.

It was the turn of counsel for the United States to address the Supreme Court. The case had not been an easy one.

California’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had set stricter vehicle emission standards.

The fuel producers protested. They challenged the state’s right to set these stricter standards. The industry claimed that it had “suffered economic harm”; and that the decision had “favoured electric vehicles”. They complained it prejudiced their business.

When Edwin Kneedler, the deputy solicitor general of the US, rose to defend this state action, he was already pushing 79.