Without a track record of good faith, the Rhode Island Democrat said, he cannot sell a bill to his own caucus.
Whitehouse and Senator Shelley Moore Capito, the West Virginia Republican who chairs the Environment and Public Works Committee, are working to finalize a permitting reform package by summer. But the talks face a fundamental tension as President Donald Trump continues to attack renewable energy and his agencies slow-walk approvals for wind and solar projects.
“It becomes very challenging for me to take even a very good bill to my caucus and say, ‘We should trust this administration for two-some more years with this good bill, and that they will faithfully execute it,’” Whitehouse said. He argued that a significant number of projects must move forward before Democrats can feel comfortable that the “environment or administration of permitting reform will be so false and toxic.”
Capito acknowledged that the administration has not been as cooperative as it could be. She pointed to the Interior Department’s efforts to halt construction of several offshore wind projects as an example of the resistance lawmakers face. Still, she noted that the administration’s decision not to appeal adverse court rulings on those projects and its willingness to advance some solar projects on public land were “a good signal.”
“We’re working with the administration to make sure Trump understands this is a legacy issue for this president,” Capito said.
The Republican senator framed the push for permitting reform as a rare moment of convergence between industries that often find themselves at odds. She argued that the Biden administration’s actions against fossil fuels, including the cancellation of the Keystone XL pipeline, combined with Trump’s moves against clean energy, have created a “shared pain” that is driving allies from both sides toward a deal.
“It’s a shared pain, and I think that’s what’s driving us, I think, together,” Capito said.
Whitehouse’s warning underscores the fragility of the negotiations. Even as top lawmakers express optimism that some form of legislation can cross the finish line this year, the White House’s posture toward renewables threatens to poison the well before a bill is ever written.
