In an elaborate battle of Senate procedure, Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) set the stage for California’s strict emissions standards to be repealed.
The gambit, which unfolded across five hours of Wednesday night votes, required Thune to establish that Republicans had the authority to undo three environmental waivers granted to California at the tail end of the Biden administration.
But first, Republicans had to overcome a series of objections raised by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), who accused Republicans of setting a filibuster-breaking precedent with their vote.
A vote for repeal would ignore the Government Accountability Office, which determined the waivers are not eligible under a fast-tracking process used to reverse regulations.
But Republicans argued the waiver was a peculiar circumstance that needed Senate clarification, and that the GAO had erred by weighing in.
In a 51-46 vote that fell along party lines, Republicans affirmed their ability to repeal the waivers, clearing the way for the first of three to be withdrawn on Thursday morning.
The floor vote reflected a carefully calibrated attempt not to challenge the parliamentarian directly, a prospect that initially prompted GOP concern. The parliamentarian advised that she would side with the GAO if asked for a ruling.
It also marked an early test of Thune’s control of the floor since he became majority leader in January.
Democrats were ultimately unsuccessful as Schumer moved to recess or adjourn the chamber. In one convoluted exchange, he attempted to block Thune by raising a “point of order that points of order are not in order.”
Schumer relented shortly before 11 p.m., but not before warning that Democrats would take an expansive view of the filibuster-skirting Congressional Review Act when they are back in power.
“Make no mistake, Republicans have set a new precedent that will come back to haunt them and haunt this chamber,” Schumer said. “What goes around comes around.”
THUNE IGNORES PARLIAMENTARIAN TO TEE UP CALIFORNIA EMISSIONS VOTE
Thune prebutted Schumer in a Tuesday floor speech announcing the vote and again on Wednesday. In a Washington Examiner op-ed, he denied Republicans were weakening the filibuster and accused the “audacious” GAO of improperly limiting Congress’s power.
Both the Trump administration and GOP-led House have interpreted the waivers as regulations eligible for repeal.
