HAPPY THURSDAY! Welcome to Overnight Energy, The Hill’s roundup of the latest energy and environment news. Please send tips and comments to Rebecca Beitsch at rbeitsch@thehill.com. Follow her on Twitter: @rebeccabeitsch. Reach Rachel Frazin at rfrazin@thehill.com or follow her on Twitter: @RachelFrazin.
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MUSICAL CHAIRS: Even with vote tallying still underway, some House Republicans are already eyeing the next race, laying the groundwork for leadership positions on Congress’s environmentally-focused committees.
Natural Resources… GOP Reps. Bruce Westerman
Bruce Eugene WestermanRepublicans in campaign mode for top spots on House environmental committees COVID-19 complicates California’s record-setting wildfire season Cheap, at-home coronavirus tests exist — why aren’t we using them? MORE (Ark.) and Paul Gosar
Paul Anthony GosarFrankel defeats Loomer in Florida House race Why Maricopa County will choose the next president Hillicon Valley: House votes to condemn QAnon | Americans worried about foreign election interference | DHS confirms request to tap protester phones MORE (Ariz.) are actively campaigning to take over on Natural Resources.
Westerman’s background — a Yale Forestry School graduate and the sponsor of the Trillion Trees Act— will be pitted against Gosar’s Western roots, a trait shared by most other Republicans that have led the committee.
Westerman wants to help the party focus on it’s conservation message — something President Trump
Donald John TrumpAides tried to get Trump to stop attacking McCain in hopes of clinching Arizona: report Officials warn delayed vote count could lead to flood of disinformation New Trump campaign lawsuit targets late-arriving Georgia mail ballots MORE and others have adopted as a way to beef up an otherwise slim environmental record.
“I think we’ve got to retake the conservation narrative, something Republicans have been very strong on and can be stronger on in the future,” Westerman said.
Westerman might be considered a safer, more traditional pick over Gosar, who has made controversial comments about “climate hoax believers” and drew attention with a series of tweets whose first letters spelled out “Epstein didn’t kill himself,” a nod to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Gosar cited the committee’s influence over the West as a factor in his interest.
“My years of service as Chairman of the bipartisan Congressional Western Caucus and status as a committee leader and Westerner, make me a great candidate for Ranking Member of the Natural Resources Committee,” he said in a statement to The Hill.
E&C… A fiercely fought contest for the broad Energy and Commerce role is already underway between GOP Reps. Cathy McMorris Rodgers
Cathy McMorris RodgersConservatives seize on New York Post story to push Section 230 reform Race heats up for top GOP post on powerful Energy and Commerce Committee Hillicon Valley: Trump backs potential Microsoft, TikTok deal, sets September deadline | House Republicans request classified TikTok briefing | Facebook labels manipulated Pelosi video MORE (Ore.), Michael Burgess
Michael Clifton BurgessRace heats up for top GOP post on powerful Energy and Commerce Committee Hillicon Valley: House votes to condemn QAnon | Americans worried about foreign election interference | DHS confirms request to tap protester phones House approves measure condemning QAnon, but 17 Republicans vote against it MORE (Texas) and Bob Latta (Ohio).
McMorris Rodgers’s pitch portrays her as a well-rounded choice to lead a large committee with broad jurisdiction.
“I believe that I’m proven, and as I talk to members of the steering committee, many have said that they believe I have earned it,” she said, noting her six years as House Republican Conference chairwoman.
“It’s the combination of having proven myself from a political perspective, the leadership experience, the policy leadership, the communications skills I bring having done the tough interviews — it’s a combination of all of those things that make me uniquely prepared.”
Burgess is banking more on his story with the committee: “We all have our strengths,” Burgess said. “I will have the highest seniority. As far as leadership on subcommittees, I can put my credentials up against anybody. No, I haven’t been chairman of the conference, but on the other hand, I put my heart and soul into committee work and the policy literally every day since I first started here.”
As is Latta: “As a member who has served on all six subcommittees and spearheaded legislation and initiatives from each of the five legislative subcommittees, I am intimately familiar with a broad span of policy issues,” he said.
Agriculture… Democratic House members are also jostling to take over as chair of the Agriculture Committee following the defeat of its current head, longtime Rep. Collin Peterson
Collin Clark PetersonOVERNIGHT ENERGY: Down ballot races carry environmental implications | US officially exits Paris climate accord Centrist Democrats talk leadership changes after negative election results House Democrats fall way short in disappointing night MORE (D-Minn.).
Rep. David Scott
David Albert ScottMichigan worker gets 13 stitches after slicing fingers on booby-trapped Trump-Pence sign The Hill’s Campaign Report: Biden marks 4th anniversary of Pulse nightclub shooting Georgia Rep. David Scott wins primary, avoiding runoff after final tally MORE (Ga.), the second-highest ranking Democrat on the Agriculture panel, sent a letter to colleagues Thursday afternoon kicking off his campaign.
“If elected, I would approach my role as the first African American to chair the Agriculture Committee, and the first African American from Georgia to chair any committee, with a principled focus on addressing inequities in agriculture and advancing racial progress for all,” he wrote.
Reps. Jim Costa
James (Jim) Manuel CostaHouse Democrats call on State Department for information on Uighur prisoner Ekpar Asat Hispanic Caucus requests meeting with private detention center CEOs Black Caucus rallies behind Meeks for Foreign Affairs gavel MORE (Calif.) and Marcia Fudge
Marcia Louise FudgeOfficials urge social media groups to weed out election disinformation targeting minority voters Letter from Trump taking credit for aid now mandated in government food boxes: report This week: House returns for pre-election sprint MORE (Ohio), the next two most senior Democrats on the committee, are other possible contenders for the role.
Any of the picks to replace Peterson could provide some historic firsts.
Read more on Natural Resources and E&C here and read about the Agriculture contest here.
TIDBITS:
It’s the final countdown… Even though a Biden win has not yet been cemented in the 2020 election results, a late Wednesday tweet from the former vice president reflected on the U.S.’s official exit from the Paris Climate Agreement — and his excitement for a 180 degree turnaround.
“Today, the Trump Administration officially left the Paris Climate Agreement. And in exactly 77 days, a Biden Administration will rejoin it,” he tweeted.
Renewing their commitment to renewables… Nevada voters amended the state’s constitution to require that electric utility providers get at least half of their electricity from renewable sources by 2030.
The amendment, passed as a ballot measure, requires all providers that sell electricity to retail customers meet a Renewable Portfolio Standard that gradually tightens between 2022 and 2030. Nevada’s governor has already signed a bill into state law that similarly requires the providers to get half of their electricity from renewables. But the passage of the amendment codifies that requirement into the constitution and makes it harder to repeal in the future.
Powell’s eyes on climate change…“The public will expect and has every right to expect that in our oversight of the financial system, we will account for all material risks and try to protect the economy and the public from those risks,” Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said during a Thursday press conference. “Climate change is one of those risks.”
OUTSIDE THE BELTWAY:
EPA chief of staff hit campaign trail for Trump, E&E reports
Shell Convent, LA, refinery will close amid to pandemic, Reuters reports
Norway’s Supreme Court Hears Rights Challenge to Arctic Oil Drilling, The New York Times reports
