Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) has vowed to oppose all of President Joe Biden's Environmental Protection Agency nominees unless the administration halts its plans to regulate U.S. power plant emissions. He believes the EPA's commitment to their extreme ideology overshadows its responsibility to ensure long-lasting energy and economic security.
"The rules expected to be proposed by the EPA this week are 'designed to kill the fossil industry by a thousand cuts,'" said Manchin.
The proposal would impact nearly all fossil-fueled power plants in the United States, which generate about 60 percent of our electricity, without an adequate plan to replace the lost baseload generation. EPA administrator Michael Regan is scheduled to announce his agency’s new power plant regulations on Thursday.
Manchin fears that the administration's commitment to their extreme ideology overshadows their responsibility to ensure long-lasting energy and economic security.
If no Republicans cross the aisle, they will need support from every Democrat, including Sen. Dianne Feinstein. The Hill has reached out for comment from both White House and EPA representatives regarding these developments.
There are two pending EPA nominees before Senate: Joe Goffman for air office management and David Uhlmann as enforcement office head.
Senator Joe Manchin has expressed his opposition towards President Biden's nominees due in part because of forthcoming plans limiting greenhouse gas emissions from power plants scheduled for unveiling on Thursday as part of an administration agenda “designed.kill.the.fossil.industry.by.a.thousand.cuts.”
As an influential Democrat hailing from coal- and gas-rich West Virginia, Manchin has frequently sparred with administration officials over government implementation provisions found within Inflation Reduction Act legislation intended at forcing sales of new oil/gas leases alongside requirements dictating electric vehicles utilize US-made components qualifying them tax credits eligibility status terms/conditions clauses set forth by law.
Representatives from the EPA have yet to respond to requests for comment on this matter.