A Senate that’s expected to stay in Republican hands is likely to create headaches for a potential Biden presidency on climate legislation and nominees for top environmental posts.
The blue wave anticipated by Democrats failed to materialize, leaving a smaller Democratic majority in the House and what’s likely to remain a GOP-controlled Senate, where Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has often refused to bring climate-related bills to the floor.
Republican control of the upper chamber could also make it tough for former Vice President Joe Biden to secure Senate confirmation for potential Cabinet picks and other top administration posts for energy and environment policy. Gina McCarthy, an Obama-era EPA administrator, told reporters Wednesday that she hopes Biden will appoint “the Anthony Fauci” of the EPA and Energy Department, adding that “many people can fit that bill.” On the legislative front, climate bills face a tough road to passage, if they’re even brought to the floor.
House Democrats this year passed measures on rejoining the Paris climate accord and banning offshore drilling, but the Senate hasn’t taken them up and has no plans to do so.
Still, environmentalists see windows for opportunity in must-pass legislation like spending bills and coronavirus aid.
This year's COVID-19 relief packages did not include any renewable energy provisions as some advocates had hoped they would, but having a Democrat in the White House increases the odds of inclusion in future bills...
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The authors of this piece give far too much credit to the Republicans. With Senators like Murkowski, Collins and the now departed Cory Gardner, they will cave and support environmentalists nominated by Biden.
Can you think of a single environmentalist nominated by Clinton or Obama who was rejected by the Senate?
In our entire history, only nine cabinet nominations have been rejected by the Senate and none of those were nominated by Clinton or Obama.
Of course, there are sub-cabinet and agency heads who are nominated, but I doubt if the results would be much different.
2 comments:
Too many voters think that elections don't have consequences, but all of them will soon learn they the consequences will fall on their heads. Of course the rest of us will suffer along with the idiots until the next election comes along. By then the losers in this election will have learned nothing from licking their wounds and the next debacle will be repeated. Trump was great for this country...but heaven help us he was un-presidential with some of his tweets and comments and the perfumed princes of the house and senate took offense. Now let's see how they like living in the pig pen as the crazy loons try to change this country. Hope you have been saving your cash!
amen to that
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