Sen. Lee on Dems' reaction to Supreme Court's EPA ruling
The Utah GOP senator wonders what is 'so offensive' to the party about the decision.
Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, argued on Sunday that Democrats "hate the Democratic process itself" based on their reaction to the Supreme Court's Environmental Protection Agency decision.
Lee made the comment on "Sunday Morning Futures" three days after the high court dealt a significant blow to the Biden administration’s climate change agenda, ruling Thursday that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) cannot pass sweeping regulations that could overhaul entire industries without additional congressional approval.
Democrats and environmental groups quickly condemned the Supreme Court decision for curbing federal regulatory powers related to climate issues.
The high court ruled that the EPA had limited powers in regulating emissions, adding that the agency exceeded its authority when it issued a plan to restrict power plants in 2015 during the Obama administration. Proponents of strict regulations, though, said the ruling would severely handicap the federal government's efforts to prevent cataclysmic climate change.
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Reacting to the ruling, progressive New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said on Thursday that the Supreme Court's decision is "catastrophic." In a tweet, the Democratic firebrand and climate justice advocate swiped at the Supreme Court.
"Catastrophic. A filibuster carveout is not enough," Ocasio-Cortez wrote. "We need to reform or do away with the whole thing, for the sake of the planet."
Fellow "Squad" member Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., added that the decision "flies in the face" of the law and "basic morality."
Sen. Mike Lee reacts to the Supreme Court delivering a blow to President Biden's climate agenda. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
"The decades-long fight to protect citizens from corporate polluters is being wiped out by these MAGA extremist justices," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., tweeted. "Every Republican who helped seat these justices is complicit."
"It's all the more imperative that we soon pass meaningful legislation to fight the climate crisis," Schumer continued.
"This begs the question, why do they [Democrats] hate democracy," Lee, who is a member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, said on Sunday.
"Why do they hate allowing people to elect their own representatives to make laws? That’s really what we’re dealing with here."
"All they’re saying is Congress has the power if it wants to do things like this to authorize them," he continued.
"Congress hasn’t done that. Congress must do that if it wants the government to act in this way."
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Lee went on to ask, "What is so offensive to them about the idea of having laws enacted by lawmakers who are elected by the people?"
"It’s as though they hate the democratic process itself," he said.
Fox News’ Thomas Catenacci contributed to this report.
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