Democratic US Senator Manchin says he will oppose all EPA nominees

[Polybius]

Source: Reuters

WASHINGTON, May 10 (Reuters) - Democratic U.S. Senator Joe Manchin said on Wednesday he would oppose all nominees for Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) posts until President Joe Biden's administration halts what he described as its "radical climate agenda."

Manchin, who represents the coal-producing state West Virginia, delivered his ultimatum a day ahead of the EPA's planned roll-out on Thursday of its new carbon emission standards for new and existing power plants. He said he worried the rules could cripple coal- and gas-fired power plants.

"If the reports are true, the pending EPA proposal would impact nearly all fossil-fueled power plants in the United States, which generate about 60% of our electricity, without an adequate plan to replace the lost baseload generation," Manchin said in a statement.

The agency is expected to unveil power plant emission performance standards that will lean heavily on the deployment of carbon capture or hydrogen technology to clean up the electric sector, which accounts for a quarter of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/democratic-us-senator-manchin-oppose-all-epa-nominees-statement-2023-05-10/

[NullTuples]

1. Isn't that a sorta blatant conflict of interest, given that he owns a coal company?

[Polybius]

3. What do you suggest that he do instead?

If he recuses himself and sits out the vote, he'd probably still get slammed. My suggestion is that he cashes out his coal stocks and then votes with us, but it's not gonna happen.

[NullTuples]

7. Not him; the Senate itself.

They could choose to enforce Senate Suggestion - oh, sorry; "Rule" 37.5 or any of the others that strictly prohibit (without any real necessary consequence) conflicts of interest that undermine the legitimacy of the lawmaking body itself.

At the very least, it would make a big show and bring the topic to the attention of the American public for a few minutes.

[The Mouth]

12. How many Senators would that leave us with?

No one cares with it's a Senator who votes the way they are happy with.

[jaxexpat]

16. "given that he owns a coal company", I'd say it's in no conflict to his interests.

[truthisfreedom]

4. Hydrogen? Where will we get hydrogen?

You can hardly pump it out of the ground. There’s a handful of wells, certainly not enough to power our needs. Generating hydrogen fuel from methane or electrolysis requires enormous amounts of energy, which makes it useless for generating power from a steam turbine plant. Why hydrogen is included in this discussion is beyond my capacity to comprehend.

[tinrobot]

9. Hydrogen made with energy from coal plants, I suppose.

Manchin's coal-positive agenda is pretty transparent.

[rustysgurl]

5. Self-serving POS n/t

[jimfields33]

11. He's working for his constituents

[Zipgun]

25. Working for his donors. He's consistently worked against his constituents.

[hatrack]

26. He's working for himself, for his money made by selling waste coal . . .

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/27/climate/manchin-coal-climate-conflicts.html

[OverBurn]

6. The idiot is bought and payed for.

[maxsolomon]

8. With friends like these...

Such a relentless asshole.

[Fix The Stupid]

10. "Elect more Democrats!"...lol. n/t

[TeamProg]

13. Appoint an acting cab. member.. nt

[dchill]

14. He just can't get enough ignominy.

[dobleremolque]

15. Go with acting directors ...

isn't that what Trump did? Trump was so busy firing those who wouldn't do his bidding, that some of the most critical agencies were run by acting directors during most of his term.

[MayReasonRule]

20. That Would Be A Prudent Course Of Action

[groundloop]

18. without a plan to replace the lost baseload generation..... since when is this EPA's responsibility?

When I worked in industry the EPA set the rules and let industries figure out how to meet the standards. Corporations always bitched and moaned about having to meet new standards but they somehow managed to do it.

[Joinfortmill]

19. It is clear that Mr. Manchin is a DINO.

[MayReasonRule]

21. I Agree

[SouthernDem4ever]

22. Why doesn't he just say he opposes the EPA?

He opposes clean air to breathe.
He opposes clean water to drink.

Does he give a shit if we live?

[Martin68]

23. WTF? Manchin characterizes efforts to reduce carbon emissions and decrease the danger of severe

climate change as a "radical climate agenda?" I would say more, but I need to abide by DU's guidelines.

[Bayard]

24. You're either with us, or against us

"Radical climate agenda," is not radical enough.