The auto industry agreed to move ahead with the regulations early on in the Obama administration, but only after a mid-term review of where consumer choice and technologies were before moving forward.

The White House said the Obama EPA “short-circuited” that process by conducting the review a year early. The review process was meant to begin this year with a decision on whether or not to proceed with the rules to be made in the spring of 2018.

“First off, the process was very short-circuited,” the official said. “I don’t think the public really had an opportunity to weigh in on the determination that EPA made. But nonetheless, there was a lot of data that was submitted, and I think it’s a fair point to say that the Obama EPA just ignored it.”

“The numbers just don’t add up,” the official told reporters. “Consumers won’t be buying those vehicles if you have gas prices at 2 bucks,” he added, referring to industry data that showed the regulations don’t correspond with consumer preference and need to be reviewed before a decision can be made.

The auto industry argued that the review was issued at a time when consumers were buying more SUVs and pick-up trucks, as opposed to hybrids, electric cars and smaller fuel-sipping cars that the regulations were designed to push into the market.

Trump is expected to raise the issue of the substantial costs these rules will impose on the industry, and that not doing a thorough review before incurring these costs would be the wrong move.

“This is a huge deal,” the senior official said, because EPA estimated a $200 billion price tag for implementing these regulations. So, “it needs to get it right.”

Trump has worked with the automakers from the beginning of his presidency as part of his “America first” agenda to bring back jobs and investment in the United States. The announcement is meant to undergird that agenda by heading off the cost of regulations, which is another theme of his presidency.

Reporters on the call asked how this would impact the states that abide by California’s stricter standards under a special EPA waiver. There are 13 states that abide by California’s vehicle standards, including Washington, D.C., which comprise sizable markets for electric and hybrid cars.

The official clarified that Trump’s announcement will in no way mean the administration will be rolling back the regulations. “I think everyone is assuming that because we are getting the mid-term review back on track that necessarily we’re going to roll back the later standards,” the senior official said. “I don’t think anyone is saying that.”

“I think the industry is looking at them and saying they are aggressive,” the official added. “I don’t think we are saying we will pull them back. We are not saying that. We’re just doing a review that was earlier agreed to. That’s what we’re saying.”

The official said that the final EPA review did not go into the Federal Register by the time President Trump entered the White House. That means it can be easily rescinded without going through a formal notice and comment period that would take months.

“The EPA put out a final determination, but they did not put it in the Federal Register,” where all final rules must be published before becoming the law of the land, the official explained. “So, it’s a non-final rule.”

He said it was caught in the regulatory freeze that the White House ordered all agencies to abide by as soon as the president was sworn in on Jan. 20. The freeze is in place until March 22.

“Because it was not published in the Federal Register, EPA can just pull it back without having to do notice and comment, which is what they’re going to do,” the official explained. And there is “plenty of court precedent” to support that, he said.

The EPA will issue a notice on Wednesday formally withdrawing the Obama EPA’s mid-term review.