Republican leaders try to whip up votes for Calif. environmental rollback

Senate Republicans hate new California regulations that would eventually eliminate gas-powered engines in the state. It’s still not clear whether they’ll vote on a repeal.

A handful of Republicans are still studying whether rolling back the waiver California got to impose its regulations would expand potential congressional powers to gut executive-branch rules. Some in the party are concerned that if they disregard the nonpartisan parliamentarian’s guidance on that matter, they would create a precedent that could come back to bite them if Democrats try to undo the legacy of a future GOP president.

It’s just not clear whether those worries about unforeseen consequences will stop Republicans who are eager to get rid of the regulations.

“It’s very important we get it right. And that we make sure that we’re not setting a precedent we’re uncomfortable with. But I’m of course very supportive of undoing the waivers,” Sen. John Curtis of Utah told Semafor. “I view this as an important vote. So, like most important votes, I’m using all the time I have to gather all the information I can.”

Republicans hold 53 Senate seats, and they can roll back the rules with 50 votes. Curtis is among at least four Republicans to watch as Senate Majority Leader John Thune prepares to bring the rollback to the floor sometime before the June 1 deadline.

Curtis and Republican Sens. Mitch McConnell, Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins are either staying quiet or acknowledging they aren’t yet sure how to handle the vote. Asked about the California regulations, Murkowski said on Thursday she was seeking more information … about the new pope.

And while McConnell has fashioned himself as a protector of the Senate rules, he also loathes regulations. That leaves some senators wondering where he will come down.

Thune probably won’t move forward if he doesn’t have the votes and is not giving away his plans. He said only that his conference is having “substantive conversations” about the decision by the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office to deem California’s waivers not eligible for repeal by Congress — since they’re not technically new rules.

The parliamentarian pointed to the GAO’s ruling, upsetting the Republicans who are generally loath to overrule the nonpartisan rules referee.

But while Thune remains noncommittal publicly, his deputy is all in.

Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso is leaning heavily into axing the waivers and ignoring the hubbub about precedent (many Republicans think Democrats will eventually kill the legislative filibuster, anyway). Barrasso wrote in The Wall Street Journal that “the bureaucrats at the GAO can’t dictate the actions of the US Senate or the will of the voters” and gave a floor speech Thursday in which he declared “the Senate needs to reject cheerleading by climate extremists.”