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Senators Sheldon Whitehouse and Jeff Merkley said Monday that it is time for Biden to take massive, unilateral executive action on climate change, even if the Supreme Court is likely to overturn at least some of them as unconstitutional.
Senators said now is the time for Biden to make those moves because Sen. Joe Manchin, DW.Va., last week refused to include any climate change legislation in a reconciliation bill that Democrats want to pass this week. month.
With a 50-50 Senate, Democrats need Manchin’s consent for anything to happen on party lines, even when they use the reconciliation process to avoid obstruction.
“We have a president who campaigned on the climate, who has been chained to the legislative process, thinking about his past as a senator,” Merkley, D-Ore, said. “It’s unleashed now and it has to go.”
Sen. Joe Manchin, DW.Va., last week refused to include climate provisions in a reconciliation bill that Democrats plan to pass this month. (Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images)
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“President Biden is an optimist and a confident soul and a very patient man,” said Whitehouse, DR.I. “That trust has not been rewarded. I think, I hope, that patience has been exhausted.”
Whitehouse added that some Senate Democrats, who now refuse to count on anything they can negotiate with Manchin, are “eager to see very broad, robust, and swift executive action.”
But his calls for Biden to take major action come when the Supreme Court has just taken on the authority of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) a major loss. In the West Virginia v. EPA case, the judges ruled that the agency cannot pass widespread regulations that could review entire industries without additional congressional approval.
“A decision of this magnitude and consequences depends on Congress itself, or on an agency acting in accordance with a clear delegation from that representative body,” Chief Justice John Roberts said in the Court’s opinion.
Senators Sheldon Whitehouse, DR.I., and Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., Said Monday that the fact that Congress cannot pass a climate package is a disgrace to the United States on a global scale. (Tyler Olson / Fox News)
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Whitehouse and Merkely acknowledged that the ruling will be a challenge. Whitehouse called it “evil” and Merkley accused the court of trying to act as a “super legislature.”
“The court is exposing a doctrine that they can use to overturn regulations they want,” Merkley said, referring to the “doctrine of the main issues,” which the court decided on the case.
“We have to live with that, but we can’t stand still for fear of what the court may do,” he added. “We’re going to look for all the options and if some of them are down, they’re defeated, we’re going to double the rest.”
Whitehouse said he has suggested several options in talks with the White House. When asked if they could be confirmed in the Supreme Court, he said “most of them could, I think.”
We cannot stand still for fear of what the court may do. We will look for all the options, if some of them are shot down, they are shot down. We will double the rest.
– Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore.
For his part, Manchin defended his decision to reject not only climate and energy provisions, but also tax increases on the Democrats ’reconciliation bill due to mass inflation.
“Political headlines have no value for the millions of Americans who struggle to buy groceries and gasoline. as inflation rises to 9.1% “, Manchin spokesman Sam Runyon said last week. “Senator Manchin believes it is time for leaders to set aside political agendas, reassess and adjust to the economic realities facing the country to avoid taking measures that will fuel fuel the fire of inflation.”
Manchin also does not rule out the possibility of any climatic action on the table. He told the West Virginia MetroNews Talkline with Hoppy Kercheval that he could be open to going through climate and energy reconciliation elements later this year if inflation appears to be slowing.
Democratic senators are calling on President Biden to take massive executive action on the climate, even if the Supreme Court overturns part of it. (Photo by AP / Damian Dovarganes)
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But Merkley and Whitehouse don’t want to count on that. Whitehouse said among the immediate steps Biden can take is for the EPA to force carbon capture. Merkley said the president could declare the climate an emergency under the National Emergency Act that former President Donald Trump used to redirect money to the border wall.
Doing so is critical, Merkley said, because it is unclear when Democrats will be able to hold a trifecta in the House, Senate and White House to pass a climate bill.
“I’m worried it’s going to be a decade before we have a climate majority? I’m very worried about that,” he said. “We have to use all the tools at our disposal, and certainly the tool at the moment is an intense and daring executive action.”
Fox News’ Ronn Blitzer contributed to this report.
Tyler Olson covers the policy for Fox News Digital. You can contact him at tyler.olson@fox.com and follow him on Twitter at @ TylerOlson1791.