With WV GOP Gov. Jim Justice expected to announce his bid to take WV Dem Sen. Joe Manchin's job in 2024 this week, Manchin needed some quick political theater to knock the wind out of Justice's announcement sails, and the absence of California's Dianne Feinstein presented the perfect opportunity for some truck-kun kabuki.
The Senate voted Wednesday to rescind a Biden administration emissions regulation for heavy-duty trucks that Republicans decry as too burdensome, warning it will hurt the trucking industry and have negative ripple effects through the economy.
The vote was 50-49, with Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia the only Democrat to vote with Republicans.
Republicans utilized the Congressional Review Act, which allows them to bypass Democrats who control the chamber and force a floor vote to revoke the rule at a majority threshold, not the 60 votes often needed to pass legislation.
The Republican-led House is expected to pass the measure as well, although it’s unlikely either chamber would be able to override an expected veto by President Joe Biden. The Office of Management and Budget issued a veto threat ahead of the vote.
The final rule, which was adopted by the Environmental Protection Agency in December, sets “new emission standards that are significantly more stringent and that cover a wider range of heavy-duty engine operating conditions compared to today’s standards,” according to the EPA, which said the change is needed because emissions from those trucks are “important contributors to concentrations of ozone and particulate matter and their resulting threat to public health.”
Of course Biden will veto it should it make it to his desk, so all of this was as fake as pro wrestling. Manchin gets to say he stood up to Biden for WV truckers, and nothing is actually going to happen.
Why Manchin would take his shot on this lets you know just how much of a problem Jim Justice is going to be for Manchin...if Justice can make it through the primary.
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