California officials decry Trump's 'brazen attack' on the state's auto emissions power

California officials vowed Thursday to fight for their right to have tougher fuel efficiency standards, after the Trump administration prepared to dramatically weaken stricter Obama-era rules.

“The Trump administration has launched a brazen attack, no matter how it is cloaked, on our nation’s clean car standards,” California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, a Democrat, said in a statement. “The California Department of Justice will use every legal tool at its disposal to defend today’s national standards and reaffirm the facts and science behind them. We are ready to do what is necessary to hold this administration accountable.”