As the Biden administration’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) prepares to issue stringent new power plant rules, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), is putting his foot down.
“I fear that this Administration’s commitment to their extreme ideology overshadows their responsibility to ensure long-lasting energy and economic security and I will oppose all EPA nominees until they halt their government overreach,” Manchin said in a May 10 statement.
When asked that same day about Manchin’s vow, White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Biden “stands by his well-qualified nominees to do the important work of the EPA.”
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre speaks during a press briefing at the White House in Washington on May 9, 2023. (Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times)
As a pro-fossil fuel centrist in the closely divided Senate, Manchin could throw a monkey wrench in the works as the Biden administration seeks to advance his environmental agenda—a centerpiece of the longtime Washington insider’s presidency….