In the early 2020s, General Motors really got behind the idea of electric vehicles,

and politicians across the country saw the automotive giant as an ally to EV-friendly policies.

Famously, in 2021, President Joe Biden thanked GM CEO Mary Barra

at the opening of the company's new EV factory in Michigan.

You changed the whole story, Mary, wherever you are.

There you are.

You did, Mary.

You electrified the entire automobile industry.

I'm serious. You led and it matters.

But in the last few years,

and especially after Donald Trump was reelected,

the company has dramatically changed its tune.

And now, some Democrats accuse GM of betrayal.

GM sold us out.

Mary Barra sold us out.

That's Democratic California Governor Gavin Newsom at a press conference last month, after Republicans

in Washington passed a law that stripped California of its ability to regulate car emissions.

The Republicans rolled that back this year, Donald Trump's leadership,

but the American automobile manufacturers allowed that to happen.

GM led that effort.

So why would a company that seems so committed to an EV future now works so hard to lobby against it?

Welcome to The Journal, our show about money, business, and power. I'm Ryan Knutzen. It's Wednesday, October 29th. Coming up on the show, why GM slammed the brakes on EVs.

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