The Week in Climate Hearings: The Vought Shutdown Enters Its Second Week

The standoff between the Trump regime and the surprisingly stiff-spined Congressional Democrats over the power of the federal purse continues, with no end in sight. So long as Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) does not invoke the nuclear option to kill the Senate filibuster, the Senate must come to a bipartisan agreement on funding legislation. However, Trump’s Project 2025 vizier Russ Vought seeks total control over budgetary decisions, and Congressional Republicans are afraid of confronting Trump’s illegally partisan efforts to shred the Constitution. As Thune baldly stated about Vought, “we don’t control what he’s going to do.”

The consequences of the deadlock on funding authority, which lapsed on October 1st, are beginning to mount, with government services degraded, thousands of federal employes furloughed, and many soon to miss paychecks on October 14th.

“Republicans are in disarray,” Politico writes, as rank-and-file Republican members are increasingly uneasy about the Vought shutdown and the Democratic caucus under Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) remains unexpectedly disciplined. Already, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), Sen. Thom Tillis (R-S.C.), Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), and Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), and Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) have expressed public discomfort with the White House’s destructive authoritarianism and mixed messages.

The regime is continuing fossil-fuel permitting while shuttering renewable-energy permitting and environmental protection.

Environmental Pollution Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin toured Fox News shows to blame unions for “chaos and confusion” and to promise new “sombreros” on social media to mock Democrats, while dissembling about the continued cutbacks he is imposing on the agency.

Other top stories:

“The private equity takeover of Minnesota Power’s parent company, ALLETE, will now move forward after all five members of the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission agreed to approve the $6.2 billion deal on Friday morning.”

“Typhoon Matmo strengthened ahead of making landfall Sunday in China, prompting the government to evacuate some 347,000 people from the southern provinces of Guangdong and Hainan.”

“A coalition of solar energy companies, labor unions, nonprofit groups and homeowners sued the Environmental Protection Agency on Monday over its termination of $7 billion in grants intended to help low- and moderate-income families install solar panels on their homes.”

Despite the Trump regime’s best efforts, renewable energy is soaring globally: “spectacular solar growth, alongside increased wind generation, met and exceeded all new demand. This led to renewables overtaking coal’s share in the global mix.”

“A National Weather Service survey team confirmed three tornadoes occurred in Tangipahoa Parish, La. early Monday morning,” along with bands of very heavy rain.

”Maryland State Supreme Court justices on Monday morning appeared wary of local jurisdictions’ arguments for granting damages to areas impacted by climate change in the state over alleged deceptive marketing by oil companies.”

“The North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality will stop studying avenues the state could take to reduce its climate-warming emissions, the agency’s director announced…. the DEQ decided to cut the program because of the ‘philosophy’ of the Trump administration.”

“North Dakota won’t get federal disaster relief for communities affected by the June 20-21 storms until after the government shutdown ends, according to the state Department of Emergency Services.” The storms included the first EF5 tornado since 2013.

Back at the Capitol, the smarmily theocratic House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La., no relation) is keeping the House out of session indefinitely in part to avoid admitting Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva (D-Ariz.), which he vociferously claims has “nothing to do” with preventing a House vote on releasing the case files of Trump’s friend and pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

The Senate is in session, at loggerheads on any action to re-authorize funding for the federal government. Last month, the Republican leadership invoked the nuclear option to change Senate rules permitting the mass confirmation of presidential nominees. That power was used on Tuesday to confirm 107 nominees by a vote of 51 to 47, including:

• Neil “Sharpiegate” Jacobs as Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere

• petroleum geologist and Cato scholar Ned Mamula as Director of the U.S. Geological Survey

• Project 2025 contributor David LaCerte and fracking lawyer Laura Swett as Federal Energy Regulatory Commission commissioners

• Chesapeake Energy lobbyist Usha-Maria Turner as Assistant Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency for the Office of International and Tribal Affairs

• PG&E attorney John Busterud as Assistant Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency for the Office of Solid Waste

• Colorado real estate developer and Trump donor Tim Walsh as Assistant Secretary of Energy for Environmental Management

• grid expert Katie Jereza as Assistant Secretary of Energy for Electricity

• Palantir lieutenant Jacob Helberg as Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment

• litigious rancher and Trump donor Michael Boren as Under Secretary of Agriculture for Natural Resources and Environment, in charge of the U.S. Forest Service

• anti-affirmative-action activist Devon Westhill as Assistant Secretary of Agriculture for Civil Rights

• mining industry lawyer Jon Snare as a member of the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission

• former Rick Santorum chief of staff and in Wayne Palmer as Assistant Secretary of Labor for Mine Safety and Health

• industry lawyer Marco Rajkovich, Jr. as a member of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission

• Republican operative Billy Kirkland as Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Indian Affairs

• toxics transporter Michael Rutherford as Assistant Secretary of Transportation for Multimodal Freight

• McKinsey global counsel Pierre Gentin as General Counsel of the Department of Commerce

• former PanAm Railways president David Fink as Administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration

• and Trump hatchetman Sergio Gor as ambassador to India

among many others.

Today, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee is holding a nomination hearing for Ho Nieh to be a member of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and Douglas Troutman to be Assistant Administrator for Toxic Substances of the Environmental Protection Agency. Nieh is an officer of Southern Nuclear and a twenty-year veteran of the NRC. Troutman is a chemical industry lobbyist, currently the Co-Interim CEO, General Counsel and Senior Vice President for Government Affairs for the American Cleaning Institute, formerly the Soap and Detergent Association.

The Senate Finance Committee has scheduled votes on Treasury nominations for Jonathan Greenstein to be Deputy Under Secretary for International Finance, Donald Korb to be Chief Counsel of the Internal Revenue Service, and Derek Theurer to be Deputy Under Secretary for Legislative Affairs. Theurer is a former tax attorney for ExxonMobil. Chair Mike Crapo (R-Wyo.) and ranking member Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) gave opening statements this morning. The votes will occur at approximately 3 pm.

The Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee had scheduled to vote on the nominations of energy-industry lobbyist Harry Kumar to be Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs, former Paul Ryan staffer Joyce Meyer to be Under Secretary of Commerce for Economic Affairs, and self-driving car executive Seval Oz to be the Assistant Secretary of Transportation for Research and Technology. She is the sister of Mehmet Oz. The committee may also vote on bipartisan STEM and oceans legislation. However, the committee did not have a quorum to hold the votes in the morning, and it is unclear if any votes will take place today.