WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY: Good afternoon and happy Thursday, readers! The big news of the day is from Doug Burgum’s and Lee Zeldin’s nomination hearings. But there’s also news on the future of Russia sanctions, and more.
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HIGHLIGHTS FROM ZELDIN’S NOMINATION HEARING: Former Republican New York Rep. Lee Zeldin faced several tough questions from Democrat lawmakers in today’s Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing. Some of the questions related to Zeldin’s stance on climate change and his opinion on certain EPA rules.
In his opening remarks, Zeldin said “We can and we must, protect our precious environment without suffocating the economy. A big part of this will require building private sector collaboration to promote common sense, smart regulation that will allow American innovation to continue to lead the world.”
Here are some of the highlights:
Zeldin cites Loper Bright: Chairwoman Shelley Moore Capito blamed EPA rules, such as the power plant rules, for the rising cost of energy. She asked Zeldin if he would take into account reliability and energy affordability as head of the EPA.
He answered “yes, absolutely.”
Zeldin said he would honor the Supreme Court’s ruling in last year’s decision Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, in which it ended Chevron deference, or the doctrine that courts should defer to agencies in their interpretation of ambiguous statutes. He said he would “make sure that it is in fact Congress’s intent that is being implemented and it is not us as an agency filling in any gaps.”
Zeldin on climate change: Democrats asked about Zeldin’s thoughts on climate change. Sen. Bernie Sanders noted that President-elect Donald Trump has called it a ‘hoax.”
Asked if he agrees with that claim, Zeldin answered: “I believe that climate change is real”
Zeldin answers for past remarks on fossil fuels: Sen. Ed Markey drilled down on Zeldin’s opinion on the fossil fuels industry. Markey noted that in 2016, in a congressional debate, Zeldin said, “there are many different ways that we can be better stewards of our environment. The key is to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels, to become more environmentally friendly and pursue clean and green ventures.”
Markey asked whether Zeldin believes in reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
“I support ‘all of the above,’” Zeldin said. “In an ideal world, we would be able to pursue the cleanest, greenest energy sources possible.”
Trump’s incoming administration is expected to seek to boost the oil and fossil fuel industry.
His plans for EPA employees: Meanwhile, the Trump administration plans to rework the administrative state by laying off federal employees and potentially moving agencies out of Washington D.C., with the EPA being one of them.
Democrat Sen. Angela Alsobrooks asked Zeldin if he supports firing 75% of EPA employees.
“I want to make sure that my job as EPA administrator is to increase productivity. It is to make sure we are efficient, accountable, and transparent,” Zeldin responded.
In regards to moving the agency’s headquarters out of D.C., Zeldin said no one has expressed to him any desire to move the EPA out of D.C.
HIGHLIGHTS FROM BURGUM’S NOMINATION HEARING: Former North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum enjoyed a pretty drama-free confirmation hearing today in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Most of the questions pertained to parochial issues in senators’ states, and Burgum did not face much pushback relating to his plans to carry out Trump’s “drill, baby, drill” agenda.
Some highlights…
Burgum cites Teddy Roosevelt on foreign policy: In his opening statement, Burgum cited Theodore Roosevelt’s foreign dictum: “speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far.”
Trump’s “energy dominance” agenda, Burgum said, could be “America’s ‘big stick’ that is leveraged to achieve historic prosperity and world peace.”
…and Indiana Jones on national monuments: Panel chairman Mike Lee of Utah questioned Burgum about the Bears Ears national monument in Utah, long a source of tension between him and Democratic administrations, which have created and expanded the monument using the Antiquities Act.
Burgum agreed that the designation went too far. The law was meant to protect “Indiana Jones-type” archeological sites, he said.
Burgum recommends the outdoors for mental health: A number of senators asked Burgum questions about public lands used for recreation or sportsmanship. In questioning with Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington, he strongly endorsed the idea of protecting parks and other outdoor areas to encourage people to get outside. “We need more people to get off their devices,” he said, making the case that outdoor activities are key to addressing the mental health crisis.
Burgum left the door open to Cassidy’s pollution fee: Sen. Bill Cassidy sought to get support for his foreign pollution fee bill, which would impose a duty on certain imports based on their carbon intensity.
Burgum stopped short of endorsing the measure, which is opposed by some conservatives who oppose carbon taxes or anything that could be construed as a carbon tax.
But he acknowledged that Trump is a fan of the idea of taxing other countries based on unwanted behaviors.
“I think you’re spot on to recognize President Trump who has a willingness to use tariffs,” he said. He said that Trump’s tariff policy is based on seeking reciprocity.
Wyden seeks compromise on IRA credits: Sen. Ron Wyden pleaded with Burgum to work with him on improving the IRA’s technology-neutral clean energy tax credits, rather than seeking to repeal them altogether, as favored by some conservatives.
Burgum sounded open to the appeal, even as he argued that the government has gone too far in subsidizing solar and wind power.
“I think your principles are really sound about being technology-neutral, about having carrots versus sticks, and also about having private sector versus just all government,” he told Wyden, who wrote the tax credits in question.
Burgum added, though, that the subsidies may have been too successful in boosting wind and solar, creating an imbalance in terms of energy sources that are intermittent and not persistent.
The country, he said, has to get back to an “appropriate amount of baseload” power.
MORE TRUMP ENERGY NOMINEES: Trump rolled out a few Energy Department nominees today on Truth Social:
- Former Rep. Brandon Williams to be Under Secretary for Nuclear Security. Williams represented a district around Syracuse, New York, for just one term before losing to Democrat John Mannion.
- Dario Gil, IBM’s director of research, to be Under Secretary for Science and Innovation.
- Wells Griffith, a longtime GOP operative who has worked at the Development Finance Corporation, the National Security Council, and Energy, to be Under Secretary of Energy.
TRUMP RUSSIAN SANCTIONS REVAMP IN THE WORKS? Advisers to Trump are readying plans to revamp the Russia sanctions regime with an eye toward achieving a ceasefire in Ukraine, people with their thinking told Bloomberg.
One option would be to ease the sanctions, which were tightened just last week by the Biden team, as a sign of good faith in peace talks.
The other would be to ratchet them up to put even more pressure on Russia.
In his confirmation hearing this morning, Treasury Secretary nominee Scott Bessent endorsed the idea of ramping up tariffs.
“As part of [Trump’s] strategy to end the Ukraine war, I will be 100 per cent on board for taking sanctions up, especially on the Russian oil majors, to levels that would bring the Russian Federation to the table,” he said, according to the Financial Times.
He said the Biden administration’s sanctions were not strong enough. “I believe that the previous administration was worried about raising prices during an election season,” he said.
Trump has said he would seek a quick resolution to the conflict and his Secretary of State nominee, Marco Rubio, indicated in his confirmation hearing yesterday that the administration would be seeking a “realistic” deal even at the cost of Ukraine ceding territory to Russia.
LATEST ON THE LOS ANGELES FIRES: The winds have died down in Los Angeles County, allowing for firefighters to better contain the two large fires. As of this morning, the Palisades Fire is at 22% containment and the Eaton Fire is at 55% containment. The death toll from the two fires has climbed to 27 people.
Meanwhile, two California Democrat lawmakers, Reps. Maxine Waters and Brad Sherman, reintroduced the Wildfire Insurance Coverage Study Act today, requiring the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to examine how the market for homeowners’ insurance is responding to wildfires.
Sherman asked House Speaker Mike Johnson to allow for a floor vote as soon as possible.
BP TO LAY OFF 5% OF WORKFORCE IN BID TO CUT COSTS: BP CEO Murray Auchincloss told staff this morning that the company will eliminate 4,700 positions, about 5% of its workforce, as well as 3,000 contractor jobs, Bloomberg reports.
Why this is happening: BP has fallen behind competition in recent years. It’s now worth less than half of Shell and has seen poor performance even as others have done very well. Part of the problem was the embrace of low-carbon energy by former CEO Bernard Looney, predicting that global oil demand had peaked.
RECKONING WITH THE POSSIBILITY OF PEAK OIL DEMAND IN CHINA: A year-over-year decrease in oil imports by China has led to a reckoning about what peak Chinese oil demand would mean for the market, the Financial Times reports.
Why this matters: China imports the vast majority of its oil, and over the past three decades its consumption has accounted for half of all growth in global demand.
If its growth is leveling off, investment into oil production may be too high.
“The jury is out on whether the demand will be there to absorb it or not,” Morgan Stanley analyst Martijn Rats told the publication. “The answer may be that it is not.”
On the other hand, “If you go back over the last 20 years, there have been proclamations of peak oil at points of economic softness, and it’s proven to be incorrect,” Meg O’Neill, the chief executive of Australian oil and gas company Woodside, told the FT. “China still aspires to grow its economy and lift the standard of living and often that has a direct correlation to energy consumption.”
ICYMI – BIDEN WARNS OF ‘POWERFUL FORCES’ TO REVERSE CLIMATE PROGRESS: Last night, President Joe Biden delivered his farewell speech, in which he warned about the future of U.S. environmental progress.
Biden said that much of what his administration has done to counter climate change could be undone.
“[P]owerful forces want to wield their unchecked influence to eliminate the steps we’ve taken to tackle the climate crisis, to serve their own interests for power and profit,” Biden said. “We must not be bullied into sacrificing the future, the future of our children and our grandchildren. We must keep pushing forward, and push faster. There is no time to waste.”
RUNDOWN
Inside Climate News ‘Virtually Any City on Earth Can Burn Now’
Grist Who does the EPA protect?
The Los Angeles Times The long-term health effects of L.A. County wildfire smoke