President Barack Obama plans to call on the Environmental Protection Agency on Monday to consider allowing states including California to regulate automobile greenhouse-gas emissions, said people familiar with the administration’s thinking. The move will signal a major policy break from his predecessor on an issue that has divided key Democratic Party constituencies. Mr. Obama’s announcement is almost certain to spark a war between two key Democratic constituencies: environmentalists and state officials who want power to set greenhouse-gas rules, and auto makers and unions who say such rules would exacerbate the industry’s woes following the worst year of U.S. vehicle sales in more than a decade. Mr. Obama also plans to direct the Department of Transportation to complete automobile fuel-economy standards by March so that they can take effect for the model year 2011. Mr. Bush’s administration had pledged to take such a step before the end of his term but ultimately punted the issue to Mr. Obama. Mr. Obama’s plans were described to The Wall Street Journal by three people familiar with the administration’s thinking, including one administration official. Mr. Obama was expected to outline his plans in directives to the agencies to be released at a […]