Washington, D.C.— U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, took to the Senate Floor as Republicans began the process to overrule the Parliamentarian and exercise the nuclear…

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Ranking Member on the Environment and Public Works Committee, released the following statement after Republicans voted to overrule the Senate Parliamentarian, effectively going nuclear:

“Republicans just overruled the Parliamentarian, violated the plain text of the Congressional Review Act, changed the Clean Air Act, and broke the filibuster.  They falsely claimed that the waivers were exceptional.  Not true.  What’s in fact exceptional was the Trump EPA submitting these waivers as ‘rules’ and then deciding to go nuclear when that was declared illegal.  To appease their fossil fuel donors, Republicans upended 50 years of Clean Air Act waivers to the state of California; 30 years of deference to the Parliamentarian on what constitutes a ‘rule’ under the CRA; and the entire history of Senate procedure.  They now bear responsibility for the resulting harms to families’ health, the increase in planet-warming carbon pollution, and the damage to American automakers facing increased competition from China — all so their donors can sell more gasoline.  

“Make no mistake, Democrats will not forget this, and Republicans will rue this day.”