"Even if Republicans eke out a narrow majority in one or both chambers of Congress, the fossil fuel industry will need to win Democrats to advance their top agenda item—speeding permitting of pipelines, ports."

"For weeks, some Republicans have been preparing to wield control of Congress as a cudgel against President Joe Biden’s climate and clean energy agenda.

Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.), in line to become chair of the powerful Energy and Commerce Committee, hired a new chief counsel for investigations a month prior to the Nov. 8 election, vowing to hold administration officials accountable “for how they’ve shut down American energy.”

She raised the specter of adversarial hearings over the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and its $370 billion spending on clean energy. “Solyndra on steroids,” Rodgers called the law, invoking the bankrupt solar company that the GOP featured in serial hearings to tarnish President Barack Obama’s nascent clean energy spending program a decade ago.

But following Republicans’ unexpectedly weak showing—the worst midterm result for an opposition party in 20 years—clean energy advocates are feeling confident. Even if Republicans gain control of the House of Representatives or the Senate after the votes are all counted—including in the Georgia Senate runoff next month—they believe the nation’s first climate law will be able to withstand any assault by a weakened GOP."

Marianne Lavelle reports for Inside Climate News November 13, 2022. [2]