Democrats Win House and Senate, Gain Climate Leverage — SkimNews
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- Democratic Party had secured control of both the Senate and House by Wednesday morning plus several state governments, extending into Republican strongholds Ohio and South Carolina on voter anger over inflation and the war in Iran; with the chambers, the party says it can subpoena administration officials, pursue impeachment over funding clawbacks and staff cuts, and reimpose clean energy tax credits Republicans rescinded last year.
- Trump administration withheld billions of dollars in Inflation Reduction Act climate money, throwing major projects into limbo: the Department of Energy halted experimental hydrogen production work in Pennsylvania and decarbonized cement in California, while the EPA froze a $7 billion community solar program.
- Chellie Pingree, the lead Democrat overseeing EPA and Interior funding on the House Appropriations Committee, has prepared a long list of investigations and subpoenas for administration officials including EPA chief Lee Zeldin and says she can withhold other agency money: "We can put a lot more teeth into the next appropriations bill."
- James Talarico became the first Democrat elected to the U.S. Senate from Texas in nearly 40 years, beating Ken Paxton, and backs an all-of-the-above strategy protecting oil and gas jobs while growing renewables in a state producing over 40% of the nation's oil and gas; his 2021 Texas Climate Action Act set emissions targets and efficiency standards but never advanced.
- Jon Rosenthal won a Texas Railroad Commission seat, the first Democrat there in over 30 years, and wants to accelerate plugging of inactive wells that leak methane — but he joins two Republican commissioners and is likely to be outvoted.
- Sam Forstag, a former wildland firefighter and union leader, won Montana's western House district, the state's first Democratic House member in over 30 years; AP estimated 13% of ballots remained uncounted Wednesday, and he campaigned on rising power bills, data center regulation and protecting public lands.
- Georgia Democrats flipped the governor's mansion and both seats of the Public Service Commission, giving the party majority control of the utility regulator for the first time in 30 years, with Peter Hubbard defending his District 3 seat.
Why it matters: Democrats now control Congress and several state governments, while billions in Inflation Reduction Act climate money sits frozen, including a $7 billion EPA community solar program. Subpoena power and the appropriations process shift leverage to Chellie Pingree, and Georgia's utility board turns Democratic for the first time in 30 years.
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