President Joe Biden has drawn a fierce backlash to the "environmental justice" executive order he signed last week.
Conservatives and Republicans are hitting out at the proposal, calling it another example of executive overreach that will raise energy costs and make the United States more reliant on China.
WHITE HOUSE NOT OPEN TO DEBT CEILING NEGOTIATIONS WITH 'CRUEL' REPUBLICANS
"While we all want a clean environment, the Biden administration's environmental executive order is nothing more than a Trojan Horse for radical policies that drive up the cost of traditional energy, which is a major input cost for small businesses," said Alfredo Ortiz, CEO of Job Creators Network.
That was part of a larger backlash to the order, which is one of several that Biden has made in recent weeks. Competitive Enterprise Institute fellow Wayne Crews described the action as "an abuse of federal power and a serious intrusion into our lives and economic opportunities.”
The order, which Biden signed Friday, directs federal agencies to prioritize issues of environmental justice, the latest in a series of steps from the administration as it seeks to deliver on its goal of achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
It also "makes clear that the pursuit of environmental justice is a duty of all executive branch agencies and should be incorporated into their missions," the White House said in a fact sheet.
Among other things, federal agencies will be required to prevent adverse environmental and health impacts on certain communities and are called on to "actively facilitate meaningful public participation and equal treatment."
"Under this order, environmental justice will become the responsibility of every single federal agency," Biden said Friday during a speech in the White House Rose Garden. "Environmental Justice will be the mission of the entire government, woven directly into how we work with state, local, tribal, and territorial governments."
While the proposals may sound anodyne, critics described them as a Trojan horse for socialist policies.
The executive order further alludes to racial discrimination in environmental policy, citing issues such as pollution and redlining that have created disproportionate outcomes, which drew the ire of conservative groups.
"During this period of historic inflation, high gas prices, and burdensome energy costs, it is time to recommit to unleashing American domestic energy reserves, not imply that traditional energy is racist," Ortiz said.
Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce Committee have set up a hearing for later this week, arguing the process of subsidizing clean energy and electric vehicles threatens human rights and national security. The committee members describe Biden's targets for wind and solar growth along with electric vehicle adoption as unrealistic and even dangerous, arguing that diversifying the nation's energy mix will create a more reliable and secure system.
Polling shows sharp partisan divides on the issue of climate change that reflect those seen in the executive order showdown.
A CBS News-YouGov survey conducted earlier this month found that roughly two-thirds of respondents want climate change addressed in the coming years. While 91% of Democrats agreed, just 44% of Republicans did, and Republicans were also more likely to see efforts to reduce climate change as something that would hurt the economy.
The controversy over Biden's latest executive order is part of a larger trend of Republicans accusing the administration of overreach, including over transgender athletes, industrial policy, and even student loans.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
But those complaints don't seem to have slowed Biden, who pitched the move as a way to create a more just nation.
"Yes, we’re determined to strengthen the ambitions — our ambitions and actions," he said Friday. "And yes, we will include communities that have been denied basic security, basic dignity that comes from clean air — having clean air, clean water, clean energy jobs, and environmental justice."