Republicans Suffer Shocking Defeat As Obama Environmental Regulation Repeals Fails In Senate

Three Republicans joined with Senate Democrats in voting not to move a bill forward that would have repealed an Obama regulation limiting methane emissions from oil and gas drilling.

The Hill reported, “Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Susan Collins (R-Maine) and John McCain (R-Ariz.) joined all 48 members of the Democratic caucus in rejecting the resolution under the Congressional Review Act.”

Collins and Graham made their opposition to the bill known, but McCain’s no vote was a surprise.

When the Obama administration announced the rule, then Interior Secretary Sally Jewell said, “We are proving that we can cut harmful methane emissions that contribute to climate change, while putting in place standards that make good economic sense for the nation. Not only will we save more natural gas to power our nation, but we will modernize decades-old standards to keep pace with industry and to ensure a fair return to the American taxpayers for use of a valuable resource that belongs to all of us.”

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As if things weren’t bad enough for Republicans as they are saddled with a health care bill that is wildly unpopular and a president who appears to be obstructing justice, they are now failing to repeal environmental regulations that assumed would be easy to gut once Trump took office.

The Republican Party is accelerating from struggling under the burden of governing towards flat-out collapse.

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association