The Senate is barreling toward a showdown over its own rules and procedures as Republicans aim to block California’s climate policies.
Senate GOP leaders are seeking to use the Congressional Review Act to invalidate California’s Clean Air Act waivers that allow the state to set tougher environmental standards for cars and trucks in particular.
But the Senate parliamentarian is deferring to a Government Accountability Office assessment, stating that the waivers don’t qualify as federal rules that would otherwise be subject to congressional scrutiny under the CRA.
Senate Republican leaders say they’re still weighing their options. In the meantime, they’re rejecting Democrats’ claims that defying the GAO’s guidance — which could require voting to overrule the Senate parliamentarian — would set a new precedent or weaken the filibuster.
“It came to the Senate as a rule. And rules are subject to the Congressional Review Act, which we plan to do,” Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso said.
Next steps: It’s unclear how exactly this will play out. Republicans haven’t yet scheduled a vote on the CRA, which passed the House last week with 35 Democratic votes. Senate Majority Leader John Thune was noncommittal Tuesday, saying Republicans are still “having conversations.”
In a recent letter to GOP leaders, top Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, warned of “a dramatic break from Senate precedent with profound institutional consequences” if Republicans push ahead.
“[O]nce that precedent is set, a future Senate majority could subsequently apply it to legislation beyond the CRA,” the Democrats wrote. “Put bluntly, there is no cabining a decision to overrule the parliamentarian.”
Thune has previously cautioned against voting to overrule the Senate parliamentarian when it comes to budget reconciliation, saying it would mean gutting the filibuster. Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) referenced these comments and urged Republicans to consider “what it will mean when they’re in the minority.”
Thune said that’s not the issue in this particular circumstance. He accused Democrats of hypocrisy given their previous support for killing the filibuster. Forty-eight Senate Democrats voted to eliminate the filibuster in 2022, including Schumer.
“That’s pretty rich coming from the folks who actually voted to nuke the filibuster in the last session of Congress,” Thune told us.
Yet the issue here is whether the resolution can be granted expedited consideration in the Senate, as is the case with executive branch rules that qualify for congressional review. Otherwise, the measure would need to go through the cumbersome Senate floor process and ultimately be subject to a filibuster and the 60 votes required to overcome it.
Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) said Republicans are doing “what we’re legally allowed to, and that is [to] overrule a regulation by a federal agency.”
