A wave of congressional Democrats has repeatedly broken from President Biden this year over the use of federal regulations to enact his climate change agenda.
Dozens of Democrats have voted more than once in recent months to buck Mr. Biden on GOP-led measures that have split the party, with several Democrats facing competitive reelection races next year siding repeatedly with Republicans on the climate change issue, according to a Washington Times analysis.
Two Democrats have opposed virtually every one of Mr. Biden’s green energy policies when it came time to vote: Sen. Joe Manchin III of West Virginia and Rep. Jared Golden of Maine.
Mr. Golden has taken at least 11 votes, including those to override Mr. Biden’s vetoes, that go against the president’s green energy regulations. Mr. Manchin has taken seven.
Four other Democrats have also rebuffed Mr. Biden on several occasions.
Texas Reps. Henry Cuellar and Vicente Gonzalez have each defected seven times; Washington Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, six times; and Montana Sen. Jon Tester, three times.
All four House Democrats were the lone members of their party to cross the aisle to support House Republicans’ marquee energy package known as H.R. 1.
The man in charge of getting Senate Democrats elected played down the rebellion as Democrats in swing states simply taking positions that voters back home likely welcome.
“They’re voting the way they think is best for their state,” Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chairman Gary Peters, Michigan Democrat, told The Washington Times. “It’s always good to represent the people in your state accurately.”
His GOP counterpart, National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Steve Daines, argued that a few votes can’t undo the Democrats’ records.
“You’re seeing a few foxhole conversions as we approach the ’24 election,” Mr. Daines, Montana Republican, told The Times. “Voters back home, they hold these senators accountable for their consistent records voting against common-sense energy policy. We’ve seen some major flip-flops as of late.”
The votes they cast to dismantle Mr. Biden’s energy and environment agenda included nixing:
• A Labor Department rule allowing 401(k) managers to engage in ESG investing without clients’ knowledge;
• The suspension of solar panel tariffs on Southeast Asian countries used by Chinese manufacturers to skirt U.S. tariffs;
• Federal environmental protections over small waterways like streams and wetlands;
• Stringent emissions rules for heavy-duty trucks and semis;
• Protections for endangered and threatened species that critics said were overly broad.
Mr. Manchin would be one of the most vulnerable Senate Democrats in 2024. He hasn’t yet said if he will seek reelection.
“I’m voting for energy security for our country. My state is an energy producer and has been an energy producer for over 100 years,” Mr. Manchin told The Times. “But the bottom line is the country needs security. The grid needs reliability. We all need to work together to make sure it’s an all-above energy policy.”
As chair of the Senate Energy Committee, Mr. Manchin has increasingly placed Mr. Biden’s climate change agenda in his crosshairs as the 2024 elections draw near. He tanked a top Biden nominee to the Department of Energy over the agency’s proposed efficiency regulations on gas stoves, vowed to oppose all future EPA nominees over the president’s “radical climate agenda” and even threatened to support the repeal of Democrats’ tax-and-climate spending law known as the Inflation Reduction Act that he helped write.
The voting record of Mr. Golden, who represents a competitive swing district, closely aligns with Mr. Manchin. In a statement to The Times, Mr. Golden expressed concern that the president’s clean energy initiatives could jeopardize U.S. energy security and access to affordable energy, adding that he desires more “realistic policies.”
“I am supportive of an all-of-the-above energy approach with a top focus on affordability for working-class communities,” Mr. Golden said. “I support realistic policies that work for people living in places like rural Maine. I also believe we need to be cognizant of the national security concerns at play when we are discussing anything that has to do with energy.”
Mr. Tester, who is seeking a fourth team, is another at-risk Senate Democrat. The burly farmer has voted at least three times to buck Mr. Biden’s green energy agenda, including on the rules for ESG 401(k) investing, Chinese solar tariffs and waterway protections.
“I approach [climate change] from probably a different angle than [Biden] does,” Mr. Tester told The Times. “I’m less of a regulatory person and more for making investments. Let the private sector get out there and get the work done so that capitalism can work.”
In the House, moderate Democrats in swing districts such as Mr. Cuellar, Mr. Gonzalez and Ms. Gluesenkamp Perez have repeatedly bucked Mr. Biden.
Their offices did not respond to requests for comment.
In total, dozens of Democrats in Congress have voted against Mr. Biden’s climate agenda. But most of these Democrats cast three against the president on one issue: gas stoves.
A House vote on an amendment to prohibit new gas stove regulations or bans — the vote added the measure to Republicans’ broader energy package known as H.R. 1 — attracted the most defectors with 29 Democrats breaking ranks.
The same number again broke ranks to support separate GOP bills to block proposed Department of Energy efficiency rules that would render at least half of gas stove models non-compliant and to prevent any potential future ban of the appliance by the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
Mr. Cuellar, Mr. Gonzalez and Ms. Gluesenkamp Perez supported House Republicans’ energy package and voted in favor of the three votes to safeguard gas stoves. Ms. Gluesenkamp Perez also voted to reimpose the Chinese solar tariffs and to override Mr. Biden’s veto of the measure. Mr. Cuellar and Mr. Gonzalez voted to curb Mr. Biden’s federal protections over small waterways and stringent emissions rules for heavy-duty trucks and semis.
In the Senate, the measure to reimpose Chinese solar tariffs drew the most bipartisan support with nine Democrats crossing party lines.
However, none of the energy and environment measures that passed Congress became law due to presidential vetoes or lack of Senate support, leaving Mr. Biden’s regulatory climate agenda intact.
One Republican is also an outlier on Mr. Biden’s green policies: Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick.
The Pennsylvania lawmaker is co-chair of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus and has bucked the GOP to support Mr. Biden’s green policies at least four times this year — more than any other Republican. He was the lone Republican to vote against the House GOP’s H.R. 1 energy package.
• Ramsey Touchberry can be reached at rtouchberry@washingtontimes.com.