Pa.’s Casey, Toomey split on Senate vote to overturn Trump power plant rule

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate on Thursday voted to reject a Democrat-led attempt to overturn a controversial Trump administration power plant regulation. 

Democrats forced a Senate floor vote on a resolution to block the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s power plant rule, which was seen as a weaker replacement for an Obama-era regulation to clamp down on power plants’ greenhouse gas emissions. 

The effort was seen as largely symbolic, given that Democrats hold 45 seats in the chamber (two independent senators also caucus with the Democrats). The resolution required only a majority to pass, but it fell short by a vote of 41-53. 

Pennsylvania’s two U.S. Senators, Democrat Bob Casey, of Scranton, and Republican Pat Toomey, of Lehigh County, split on the resolution. Casey voted for the resolution. Toomey voted against it, according to an official Senate roll call. 

Maine Sen. Susan Collins, who’s facing a tough re-election bid next year, was the only Republican who broke ranks to support the effort. Three Democrats — U.S. Sens. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, Doug Jones of Alabama, and Joe Manchin of West Virginia — sided with most of the GOP in voting against the resolution.

“In Maine, our economy is inextricably linked to the environment. Our state, which is situated at the end of the nation’s air pollution tailpipe, has made substantial progress in reducing harmful emissions by increasing energy efficiency, adopting clean energy technologies, and improving air quality and public health,” Collins said in a statement. “While I am pleased by the progress our country has already made in reducing air pollutants, the Administration’s rule to repeal and rewrite the Clean Power Plan is a step in the wrong direction.”

Senate Democrats sought to force their Republican colleagues to go on the record backing a Trump rule that critics say falls short of what’s needed to combat climate change. 

“The Trump administration’s Dirty Power Scam comes at a time when Americans are demanding we take bold action to confront the climate crisis and it must be reversed,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said last week when he announced the vote. 

Senate Republicans control the voting schedule in the chamber, but Democrats were able to force a vote using the Congressional Review Act. The law allows Congress to overturn federal agencies’ regulations within 60 days after a rule is finalized. A CRA vote can be placed on the Senate calendar by securing the signatures of 30 members. 

The Trump EPA regulation, dubbed the “Affordable Clean Energy” rule, was put forward as a replacement for President Barack Obama’s “Clean Power Plan.”

The Obama measure was a centerpiece of the administration’s efforts to fight climate change and would have set national emission limits for coal-fired power plants. The Trump EPA argued that Obama’s approach was illegal, and gives states far more flexibility over cutting emissions, the New York Times reported in June when the rule was finalized. 

“The EPA has a congressionally mandated duty to protect the human health and the environment,” said U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., who authored the resolution. “The EPA has abdicated its responsibility in promulgating this deeply flawed rule.”