California Democratic senators urge Biden to set end date for gas-powered vehicle sales

California Democratic Sens. Alex Padilla and Diane Feinstein will press President Biden to set a date for the federal government to phase out the sale of gas-powered passenger vehicles.

The request is being made in a letter obtained by Reuters set to be delivered Monday to Biden.

The senators say in the letter that Biden should "follow California's lead and set a date by which all new cars and passenger trucks sold be zero-emission vehicles."

The letter will also urge the president to restore California's authority to set clean car standards, according to Reuters.

“We believe the national baseline should, at an absolute minimum, be built around the technical lead set by companies that voluntarily advanced their agreements with California,” Padilla and Feinstein wrote in the letter. Padilla replaced Vice President Kamala Harris as California's junior senator. 

Biden made climate change and U.S. carbon emissions part of his election goals hopping to achieve net zero carbon emissions and zero carbon emissions by 2050, according to his website.