California Attorney General Xavier Becerra. Photo: Jason Doiy/ALM

California is leading more than two-dozen states and cities in suing the Trump administration over its repeal of stricter state emissions standards, the start of what is sure to be a drawn-out legal fight that could get to the U.S. Supreme Court.

In a lawsuit filed in District Court for the District of Columbia on Friday, the 24 attorneys general as well as the cities of New York and Los Angeles allege that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration acted arbitrarily and capriciously in approving a rule that effectively revoked the state's standards and that officials didn't have the authority to make the change in the first place.

The other states include Pennsylvania, Connecticut, New York and Delaware.

"Two courts have already upheld California's emissions standards, rejecting the argument the Trump administration resurrects to justify its misguided Preemption Rule. Yet, the administration insists on attacking the authority of California and other states to tackle air pollution and protect public health," California State Attorney General Xavier Becerra said in a statement announcing the lawsuit.

The complaint was filed one day after the administration officially implemented a rule stating that only the federal government could set emissions standards for cars.

California has long set its own stricter standards through an EPA waiver granted under the Clear Air Act. Twelve other states and D.C. have adopted those guidelines, at least in part.

Friday's lawsuit asks a judge to find the rule "unlawful and set aside because it exceeds NHTSA's authority, contravenes Congressional intent, and is arbitrary and capricious, and because NHTSA has failed to conduct the analysis required under the National Environmental Policy Act."

The complaint points to the California standards as "one of the most effective state policies to reduce greenhouse gases and other pollutant emissions from the transportation sector." It also notes that the federal government has allowed California to adopt the more rigid rules for decades and that federal courts have previously upheld the standards.

And it claims that Congress is the body that has oversight over whether the state can have the tighter emissions rules in place, not the NHTSA.

The suit further alleges that federal officials violated the Administrative Procedures Act in adopting the new regulation and that the agency "has failed to consider the damage the Preemption Regulation will inflict on the environment and public health and welfare" as required by federal law.

This is also California's 60th lawsuit against the Trump administration, according to Becerra, making it the latest development in the state's longstanding legal fight with the Trump White House.

President Donald Trump announced the policy move in a tweet earlier this week while he was in California.

He wrote that the federal government was revoking the state's waiver to implement the restrictions "in order to produce far less expensive cars for the consumer, while at the same time making the cars substantially SAFER."

"This will lead to more production because of this pricing and safety advantage, and also due to the fact that older, highly polluting cars, will be replaced by new, extremely environmentally friendly cars," he added.

California authorities cried foul and quickly promised the lawsuit after the rule was announced, arguing that the emissions rules are needed to better fight off pollution and climate change.

The White House reportedly has set its sights on getting the case up to the U.S. Supreme Court by the end of Trump's first term in office, at the start of 2021.

It's unclear if such a timeline is possible, or whether the justices would even agree to take up the case. But a ruling from the high court would likely set a precedent on whether states can set their own emissions guidelines, or if the federal government has the final say on the matter.

Shortly after the lawsuit was filed, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler and committee member Rep. David Cicilline announced they are investigating potential "abuses of power" by Trump after the Justice Department reportedly launched an antitrust probe into four automakers that signed onto the California emissions standards.

"As we have previously made clear, any political abuse of the Department's antitrust enforcement power is unacceptable. Antitrust enforcement must be conducted in accordance with the rule of law, never wielded as a political weapon to retaliate against perceived political enemies of the President," they wrote in a letter to White House counsel Pat Cippolone and Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim, who leads DOJ's antitrust division.

"This is particularly shocking where it appears that a state representing approximately 40 million people and a set of important individual companies are being targeted for simply participating in the political process."