The Week in Climate Hearings: The Death Cult Markups

As Trump continues his illegal and unconstitutional dismantling of the executive branch, House Republicans are working to abuse the budget reconciliation process to codify Trump’s coup.

Budget Wreckonciliation

On Tuesday afternoon, the mega-markup of the GOP budget reconciliation behemoth reaches three major committees—Energy and Commerce, Ways and Means, and Agriculture. Energy and Commerce and Agriculture are slashing clean energy, environment, health, and food programs to partially offset the Ways and Means’ $5 trillion in tax cuts. In other words, Americans will die for corporate tax cheats.

The Energy and Commerce Committee’s committee print, which covers energy, environment, communications, and health, is planning to overturn foundational climate and environmental policy, while unleashing unregulated AI and slashing Medicaid. The energy and environment sections:

• rescind almost all of the Inflation Reduction Act’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Agency programs, including wind energy, electric vehicle incentives, green banks, school air pollution monitoring, methane pollution fees, and more;

• ratify the DOGE elimination of Department of Energy offices and staff;

• force the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to approve LNG exports if a $1 million fee is paid;

• force the approval of any natural gas, oil, hydrogen, or carbon-dioxide pipeline project if a $10 million fee is paid;

• rescind tailpipe-pollution standards and fuel-economy standards;

• finance the Alaska Natural Gas Pipeline;

• allocate $2 billion to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve;

• and more.

The Energy and Commerce markup begins at 2 pm on Tuesday, at the same time as the Ways and Means markup of the tax provisions, which extend and expand the Trump tax cuts while eliminating $40 billion in child tax credits for the children of immigrants. The Agriculture markup is scheduled for 7:30 pm on Tuesday.

Climate Policy Hearings

The rise in climate disasters, despite (and thanks to) Republican denial, are addressed in several hearings this week.

Monday, May 12

The House Natural Resources Committee’s energy and mineral resources subcommittee held a field hearing on geothermal energy development on federal land in Cedar City, Utah on Monday afternoon.

Tuesday, May 13

At 10 am, the Senate foreign relations committee hears from right-wing Christianist Joshua Meservey and former Obama official and U.S. Ambassador to Botswana Michelle Gavin on the crises facing East Africa, gripped by fossil-fueled drought, extreme heat, famine, and war.

In the afternoon, the Senate Homeland Security Committee investigates the insurance industry’s claim practices following climate disasters, including Hurricane Helene’s devastation of Asheville, which is facing new flood threats this week. Witnesses include local homeowners and business owners, claims adjusters, and top executives from State Farm and Allstate.

And at 3 pm, the Senate agriculture committee holds a hearing on conservation with agribusiness and conservation representatives from Mississippi, Arkansas, South Dakota, and Illinois.

Wednesday, May 14

In the morning, the Senate finance committee holds a hearing on
trade in critical supply chains with lobbyists from the critical minerals, semiconductors, soybeans, and medical devices industries.

In the afternoon, the Senate aging committee holds a hearing on the unique challenges facing older Americans from climate disasters, with extremist Florida sheriff Chris Nocco (a former Marco Rubio aide), American Red Cross vice president of disaster programs Jennifer Pipa, and California emergency manager L. Vance Taylor.

Thursday, May 15

At 10 am, the Senate Commerce pipelines subcommittee holds a hearing on pipeline safety reauthorization with industry lobbyists and Pipeline Safety Trust executive director Bill Caram, and the House Natural Resources oversight subcommittee looks at land management in the wildland-urban interface, including the rising danger from extreme wildfires, with witnesses such as Megafire Action CEO Matt Weiner.

Nominations

The full Senate is expected to vote this week on energy-industry corporate lawyer James Danly to be deputy secretary of Energy and Republican operative and NextEra Energy lobbyist Katharine MacGregor to be deputy secretary of the Interior.

Tuesday, May 13

At 10 am, the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee holds a hearing for Federal Railroad Administration, Amtrak, and Commerce nominees, including McKinsey general counsel Pierre Gentin to be the Department of Commerce general counsel; Pennsylvania Trump elector Rob Gleason to join the Amtrak Board of Directors; former Pan Am Railways president David Fink to be administrator of the Federal Railway Administration; and Wall Street banker and former Trump Ex-Im Bank and State Department official David Fogel to be Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Director General of the United States and Foreign Commercial Service.

Wednesday, May 14

At 9:30 am, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee holds votes on the nominations of Energy Transfer lawyer William Doffermyre to be Solicitor of Interior, Katie Jereza to be Assistant Secretary of Energy for Electricity, and Devon Energy petroleum engineer and investment manager Kyle Haustveit to be Assistant Secretary of Energy for Fossil Energy. Meanwhile, the Senate Commerce Committee votes on the nomination of Paul Dabbar to be Deputy Secretary of Commerce for global trade and technology. Dabbar is the CEO of Bohr Quantum Technologies, oversaw the national labs in first Trump administration, and headed JP Morgan’s energy-industry investments.

The committee then holds a nomination hearing for Department of Energy nominees Jonathan Brightbill to be general counsel; Tina Pierce to be Chief Financial Officer; and Conner Prochaska to be Director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency within the Department of Energy. Brightbill is an anti-environmental corporate lawyer and former Trump DOJ environmental division head. Prochaska, who worked under Dabbar in the first Trump administration, works for Dabbar at Bohr Quantum Tech now. The committee is also interviewing fracking geologist, mining executive, and Cato ideologue Ned Mamula to be the director of the U.S. Geological Survey.

At 10:30 am, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee holds a nomination hearing for former PG&E attorney and Trump EPA official John Busterud to be EPA Assistant Administrator for Solid Waste; Republican operative and Boeing lobbyist Sean McMaster to be administrator of the Federal Highway Administration; and Adam Telle, Sen. Bill Hagerty’s (R-Tenn.) chief of staff, to be Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works.

FY 2026 Budget and Appropriations

The racist doofus Sean Duffy, Trump’s Secretary of Transportation, testifies on the fiscal-year 2026 DOT budget, which eliminates $5.7 billion in electric vehicle charger infrastructure, before House appropriators on Wednesday and Senate appropriators on Thursday.

The hatchetman Lee Zeldin, Trump’s administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, testifies on the catastrophic EPA budget, which eliminates its climate work, before Senate appropriators on Wednesday and House appropriators on Thursday.

Although Trump is unconstitutionally disregarding Congressional appropriations authority, members of Congress continue to act as if their directives will be followed, testifying in member days on earmarks for Transportation and Infrastructure and Natural Resources on Wednesday morning. And on Thursday, House appropriators conduct oversight of the Transportation Security Administration with acting administrator Ha Nguyen McNeill.