The Senate has voted to block California’s first-in-the nation rule banning the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035.

California’s authority to set environmental rules that are tougher than national standards had never been challenged by Congress. Until now.

The U.S. Senate on Thursday voted to block California’s first-in-the-nation regulations that would ban the sale of new gasoline-powered passenger vehicles statewide in 2035, setting up a certain legal battle over the future of electric cars in the United States.