WATCH: Padilla Objects to EPA Nominees After Republicans Bypass Parliamentarian to Decimate California’s Clean Air Authority

WASHINGTON, D.C. - After Republicans shortsightedly revoked California's clean air waivers last month, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration and a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, spoke on the Senate floor to object to the confirmation of all future EPA nominees during the consideration of David Fotouhi to serve as Deputy Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Last week, Padilla announced his intent to place a blanket hold on EPA nominations - stating he would maintain holds on all of President Trump's EPA nominees until Republicans allow California to protect the health of its residents, especially as the Trump Administration ramps up its attacks on California.

Padilla's holds - including yesterday's objection to Fotouhi - come after Republicans overruled the nonpartisan Senate Parliamentarian's decision and went nuclear on the Senate rulebook in order to rescind California's clean air waivers, which allowed the state to implement more protective air quality standards for over 50 years. Senate Republicans bypassed the filibuster to rescind these waivers by overruling the Senate Parliamentarian's determination that any resolutions aimed at overturning California's waivers would not be entitled to the Congressional Review Act's (CRA) expedited procedures and would therefore require 60 votes to secure Senate passage. Padilla's objections prevent fast-track confirmation of EPA nominees, requiring the Senate majority to use a more time-consuming process and hold two separate votes on each nominee.

As Ranking Member of the Senate Rules and Administration Committee, Padilla is also demanding answers from EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin on how and why EPA changed its longstanding legal position - which had persisted for 20 years under administrations of both parties - regarding whether California's Clean Air Act waivers are subject to review under the CRA. The new oversight letter emphasizes that EPA's actions to submit the waivers to Congress as rules led to the first instance of the Senate successfully using the "nuclear option" to avoid a legislative filibuster when Republicans overruled the Parliamentarian. Padilla asked Zeldin a series of questions, and requested related records and communications, pushing for details on how and why EPA changed its position and submitted California's waivers as rules to Congress, which led directly to Senate Republicans changing Senate rules to bypass the legislative filibuster.

Floor Speech on EPA Holds

In his floor speech, Padilla emphasized that Republicans' unprecedented actions jeopardize the public health of millions of Californians and blow up the Senate rulebook.

• "This was the very first time in the history of this Senate that the majority decided to go nuclear to take up joint resolutions that were subject to the filibuster one minute and they eliminated the legislative filibuster for them the next. They can deny it all they want, but it's written there in the record for all of us to see, and it was sparked by the Trump Administration's EPA abusing the Congressional Review Act and twisting it into something that it was never intended to be."

• "The consequences will be physical, impacting the health, not just the lungs, but the broader health of the people of my home state of California. So I rise to remind my Republican colleagues and the EPA's current leadership that these actions will have consequences, and as long as my Republican colleagues continue to try to pull the wool over the eyes of the American people, I'm going to continue to speak up and fight back."

• "Unfortunately, the Trump Administration and the Republican majority plowed ahead, at the expense of the health of millions of children and families in California and many other states for that matter. They took advantage of the EPA's clear abuse of the CRA to go nuclear, first overriding the procedural limits in the text of the CRA itself, and then second, by overturning the Parliamentarian's decision, all in a quest to do away with California's clear, longstanding authority under the Clean Air Act. That's unacceptable."

Padilla highlighted the importance of California's clean air waivers for addressing the state's unique air quality challenges, emphasizing that California has already done nearly all it can to reduce emissions from stationary sources of air pollution but needs its EPA waivers to regulate mobile air pollution sources that cause significant environmental and public health issues. He underscored California's leadership in port electrification and breakthrough hydrogen technologies, yet mobile sources under the federal government's jurisdiction continue to produce most emissions.

• "California has done everything it can, and now the federal government needs to step up and do its part, do its part, or get out of the way, and [let] California continue to lead."

• "That's why these waivers are so important - because absent the federal government doing its part, California needs the federal waivers to fill the gap, to reduce pollution further, to reach attainment, to protect the lungs and the health of Californians. But now, as a result of the Trump EPA and the Senate Republicans' abuse of the CRA, the people of California will be forced to breathe more toxic air pollution than they should have to and suffer the devastating impacts."

Padilla concluded his remarks by making clear that he will maintain his holds on EPA nominees until the EPA allows California to protect the public health of its residents. He highlighted that the attack on California's clean air waiver is part of the Trump Administration's relentless targeting of the state, despite the critical role California plays in bolstering the national economy, and warned his colleagues of the dangers of restricting the state's leadership.

• "From the minute Donald Trump came back into office, we knew California was a target. … The President decided to not just attack California on climate, but with ICE raids, with a tax on federal funding and research grants, threats to withhold disaster aid, and more. So to President Trump and to all those who choose to target California for a political agenda, you'll soon see what California is capable of, and you'll learn that it's far better to bet on California than against California."

• "In the meantime, I'll continue to oppose these EPA nominees until the EPA reverses course and works with California, not just for California's interest, but our nation's interest. California is the most populous state in the nation, the largest economy of any state in the nation. California's success drives America's success."

• "You rein in California's ability to lead, you restrain our country's success. So I hope we can reach an agreement in the near future. But if not, we'll continue to raise objections, and I will always stand up and defend California."

Video of Senator Padilla's full floor remarks is available here.

Oversight Letter to Administrator Zeldin

Padilla also highlighted his new oversight letter to EPA Administrator Zeldin during a Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing this morning, detailing the vast implications that EPA and Republicans' abuse of the CRA will have in rewriting the Senate rulebook.

• "I believe EPA's abuse of the CRA led the Republican majority to go nuclear, all in their effort to attack California's Clean Air Act authority. EPA had never submitted a California waiver to Congress in the 20 years that the CRA has been in effect, under both Democratic administrations and Republican administrations, until now."

• "So that reckless disregard for the law has had major consequences, not just on California's ability to reduce emissions and improve public health, but for how the Senate itself operates. And the Senate deserves to know how and why the Trump EPA changed the agency's longstanding legal position on those waivers."

• "I've asked some important questions, and I'm seeking EPA related records and communications, and so Madam Chair, we will see whether Administrator Zeldin will respect Senators' oversight authority and will hold the Trump EPA accountable for their abuse of the law."

Video of Senator Padilla's full questioning is available here.

Background

Senator Padilla has been a leading voice in pushing back against Republican attacks on California's Clean Air Act waivers. Over the last month, Padilla has spoken on the Senate floor repeatedly to sound the alarm on Senate Republicans' revocations of these critical waivers. Padilla, along with Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), also led Democratic Ranking Members in strongly warning Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) and Majority Whip John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) of the dangerous and irreparable consequences if Senate Republicans overrule the Senate Parliamentarian's decision on California's waivers. Many of his Democratic colleagues voiced similar opposition to Republicans' unprecedented dismissal of the Senate rulebook.

In April, Padilla, Whitehouse, and Senator Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) welcomed the Senate Parliamentarian's decision that the waivers are not subject to the CRA. Padilla also joined Whitehouse and Schiff in blasting Trump and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin's weaponization of the EPA after the Government Accountability Office's (GAO) similar finding. Padilla and Schiff previously slammed the Trump Administration's intent to roll back dozens of the EPA's regulations that protect California's air and water.

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