President Biden signed several executive actions today related to tackling climate change, including one to pause the US from entering into new oil and natural gas leases on public lands or offshore waters.
Biden’s nominees for secretary of energy, secretary of veteran affairs and UN ambassador had confirmation hearings today. Here’s a look at the Cabinet nominees confirmed so far.
The Senate, meanwhile, is preparing for the second impeachment trial of former President Trump. The trial is set to begin the week of Feb. 8.
Our live coverage has ended. For the latest, follow CNN Politics.
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Senate will vote to break filibuster on Biden's Homeland Security pick on Thursday
From CNN's Ted Barrett and Ali Zaslav
The Senate has scheduled a procedural vote to break the filibuster of President Biden’s pick to lead the Department of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, at 1:45 p.m. Thursday, according to the Senate Gallery.
This should set up a final confirmation vote next week on Monday or Tuesday, but that is not scheduled yet.
About the filibuster: The use of the filibuster — to stall nominations or legislation — has long been a favored tool of the minority party, something Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer did often when trying to derail and delay the Republican agenda under then-President Trump. In recent days, continued use of the filibuster on legislation became a central sticking point over a resolution that would allow the 50-50 Senate to officially organize, but the stall tactic is unlikely to be gutted further in this Congress because of resistance from some moderate Democrats.
Republicans’ planned objections to Biden’s nominee to lead the Homeland Security Department means Schumer would have to take procedural steps to overcome a filibuster on Mayorkas. The Senate Democratic leader would need 51 votes in the Senate to overcome the filibuster.
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Biden names rear admiral as acting US surgeon general
From CNN's Kaitlan Collins
Rear Admiral Susan Orsega
United States Public Health Commissioned Corps
President Joe Biden’s administration has selected nurse practitioner and Rear Admiral Susan Orsega to serve as the nation’s acting surgeon general, a development now listed on the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) website.
Her appointment is temporary until the Senate takes up the nomination of Biden’s formal nominee, Dr. Vivek Murthy, who served as surgeon general during the Obama administration.
The American Association of Nurse Practitioners applauded the appointment, noting she is a “nurse practitioner (NP) and AANP Fellow, has served as the Director of Commissioned Corps Headquarters (CCHQ) at the Office of the Surgeon General, US Department of Health and Human Services since March 2019.”
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Schumer takes procedural steps to shut off debate on nomination of secretary of homeland security
From CNN's Manu Raju and Veronica Stracqualursi
Senate TV
Chuck Schumer, for the first time as Senate majority leader, took the procedural steps necessary to overcome a GOP filibuster.
He just filed cloture to shut down debate on the nomination of Alejandro Mayorkas to lead the Department of Homeland Security, something that will require 51 Senate votes.
Democrats will get the votes needed, but it will take days until the final confirmation vote unless agreement is reached for a quicker vote. The timing on the vote is not set yet.
CNN reported earlier today that Senate Republicans planned to object to any efforts to quickly confirm Mayorkas, further delaying his confirmation as the department grapples with the Covid-19 pandemic, national security concerns and President Biden’s ambitious immigration plans.
In confirming the GOP’s plans to filibuster, Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas told reporters Wednesday on Capitol Hill that “there’s a number of problems” with Mayorkas’ nomination.
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Biden's secretary of defense expresses support for new climate actions
From CNN's Ellie Kaufman
Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images
Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III released a statement expressing his support for President Biden’s efforts on addressing the climate crisis with a series of executive actions signed today.
Austin said the department would “immediately take appropriate policy actions to prioritize climate change considerations in our activities and risk assessments.”
The department will include “the security implications of climate change in our risk analyses, strategy development, and planning guidance,” Austin added.
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Biden's energy secretary pick faces tough questions on the President's drilling moratorium
From CNN's Liz Stark
Graeme Jennings/Pool/AFP/Getty Images
As President Biden unveils new climate executive actions Wednesday, his pick to lead the Department of Energy, Jennifer Granholm, faced tough questions during her nomination hearing from lawmakers concerned about the impact on American workers.
He asked if the Biden team sought her counsel on last week’s memorandum placing a 60-day moratorium on new oil and gas leases on federal lands and waters. Granholm said she “knew that it was coming,” adding that it was part of Biden’s campaign promise. Asked if she encouraged Biden to issue the action, Granholm said she “didn’t have a specific conversation with him about it myself.”
Pointing to the moratorium’s impact on the economy and jobs, Barrasso asked how this executive action is “consistent” with Biden’s goal of unifying the country and helping the economy grow.
Granholm, who is a former CNN contributor, stressed that “we don’t want to see any jobs sacrificed,” and noted that current licenses “are not going to be disrupted, they will continue to operate.”
Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi also expressed concerns about job loss due to Biden’s executive action pausing new oil and natural gas leases on public lands or offshore waters.
Asked to respond to Hyde-Smith’s constituents who may lose their jobs, Granholm noted the moratorium on new leases is “prospective and does not apply to those who are currently operating.”
Some Democratic lawmakers, such as West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, also voiced concerns from his constituents who are worried about the energy transition leaving American workers behind in a state with a long coal-mining tradition. “Right now there are a lot of concerns that we’re hearing coming out of President Biden’s executive orders,” Machin said, adding, “People are very much concerned they’re going to leave us behind again.”
Granholm emphasized, “I cannot tell you how important this is to me personally, is to make sure that we do not leave people behind,” pointing to her experience creating jobs as governor of Michigan.
On job creation, Granholm also said during the hearing that the president has put together “a sort of SWAT team inside of the federal government to focus on communities that have powered America.”
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Biden says Trump "picked big oil companies over American workers" with regulation rollbacks
From CNN's Nikki Carvajal
Evan Vucci/AP
The Trump administration sided with “big oil companies over American workers” with rollbacks of vehicle emissions standards, President Biden said Wednesday, taking a shot at his predecessor during the rollout of his new climate and jobs plan.
The President pointed to a surge in electric vehicle charging stations across the country and “American consumers switching to electric vehicles through rebates in the Senate.”
He said those changes were leading to “residents in our cities and towns breathing cleaner air and fewer kids living with asthma and dying from it.”
On Monday, Biden signed an executive order on the federal government transitioning to “zero emission vehicles that are made and sourced by union workers right here in America.”
In addition to his regulation rollbacks, former President Trump also tried to take away California’s right to set its own auto emissions rules in 2019, but California and other states sued to stop that from happening.
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Biden ties his climate change action to job creation
From CNN's Besty Klein
Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images
As President Biden began comments Wednesday on climate change, he sought to tie his strategy and executive actions to American jobs.
He continued, “We’re talking about American innovation, American products, American labor. We’re talking about the health of our families and cleaner water cleaner air and cleaner communities. We’re talking about national security, American leading the world in a clean energy future. It’s a future of enormous hope and opportunity. It’s about coming to the moment to deal with this maximum threat that we exist with as now facing us, climate change, with a greater sense of urgency.”
As CNN’s Kristen Holmes reported earlier Wednesday, the President is expected to address creating clean energy jobs quickly.
During today’s remarks, Biden said the government approach to climate change needs to be “bold,” and he said that includes “helping revitalize economies of coal, oil and gas communities” and create “new good paying jobs” in those communities.
Many critics of Biden’s decision to shut down the Keystone Pipeline cite the tens of thousands of jobs that will be lost with the shutdown.
One of the executive actions Biden will sign will establish a Civilian Climate Corps Initiative to put Americans to work with jobs that include restoring public lands and waters, increasing reforestation and protecting biodiversity.
“We’re not going to ban fracking. We’ll protect jobs and grow jobs including through stronger standards by controls from methane leaks and union workers willing to install the changes,” Biden said today.
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Happening now: Biden delivers remarks and signs executive actions to combat climate crisis
From CNN's Elise Hammond, Maegan Vazquez and Kate Sullivan
Evan Vucci/AP
President Biden is delivering remarks now from the White House and will sign several executive actions related to the climate crisis.
This includes one that would direct the secretary of the interior to pause on entering into new oil and natural gas leases on public lands or offshore waters.
“It’s time to act,” he added.
The ambitious climate plan Biden discussed during the presidential transition seeks to increase public investments for green infrastructure and end carbon emissions from power plants by 2035 and proposes broader public investment in green infrastructure, including $2 trillion for clean energy projects.
“I might note parenthetically, if you notice the attitude of the American people toward greater impetus on focusing on climate change and doing something about it has increased across the board, Republican, Democrat and independent. That’s why I’m signing an executive order to supercharge the administration’s ambitious plan to confront the existential threat of climate change. It is an existential threat,” Biden said today.
More on today’s orders: Biden will establish the climate crisis as an “essential element of U.S. foreign policy and national security.” The order instructs the director of national intelligence, Avril Haines, to prepare a national intelligence estimate on the security implications of the climate crisis and directs all agencies to develop strategies for integrating climate considerations into their international work.
Biden will also reestablish the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, and form the National Climate Task Force, which will be composed of leaders across 21 federal agencies and departments.
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Psaki disputes White House is reluctant to weigh in on impeachment, but says focus is on the job
From CNN's Allie Malloy
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said President Biden continues to respect the role Congress is playing in the impeachment trial of former President Trump, but did not answer whether Biden sees censure as a viable alternative to impeachment.
When asked why the administration was reluctant in weighing in on impeachment, Psaki disputed that was the case saying that Biden’s “focus is on delivering what the American people elected him to do.”
“We’ve weighed in many times- the president has been asked about the issue, we put out a statement when the House put out a vote- voted on impeachment. But his focus is on delivering what the American people elected him to do,” Psaki said.
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GOP senators from oil-producing states concerned about Biden's executive actions on climate
From CNN's Ali Main and Ali Zaslav
Anna Moneymaker/Pool/Getty Images
Senate Republicans from oil-producing states expressed opposition to the sweeping executive actions President Biden is taking on climate in his first week in office, but did not shoot down the nomination of former Gov. Jennifer Granholm to lead the Department of Energy, while speaking to reporters outside of Granholm’s confirmation hearing on Wednesday
Sen. Steve Daines of Montana was critical of Biden’s executive order that revoked a permit for the Keystone XL pipeline, an action that directly affects his state.
Daines said he had a “good conversation” with Granholm yesterday, noting he wanted to make sure “she did not have a view that would want to eliminate oil, gas and coal.”
“I think she’ll bring a commonsense view to energy that’s needed right now. That may be contrary to what President Biden seems to be leading at the moment, but I hope she’ll be a voice of reason,” he said.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska told reporters Granholm “clearly has a considerable background in the area and leadership abilities,” while also recognizing “concerns” with the Biden administrations’ early climate actions.
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US needs to make up for lost time combating climate change, Biden climate envoy says
From CNN's Jason Hoffman
Evan Vucci/AP
Special presidential envoy for climate John Kerry said the United States has to make up for lost time combating climate change and a number of other issues while defending the President’s nearly $2 trillion dollar climate policy, in a briefing at the White House on Wednesday.
Kerry also defended the nearly two trillion dollar price tag of President Biden’s climate policy, saying it would cost much more not to act.
“Yes, it’s a lot of money, but you know what, it costs a lot more if we don’t do the things we need to do. It costs a lot more,” Kerry said. “There are countless economic analyses now that show that it is now cheaper to deal with the crisis of climate than it is to ignore it.”
He pointed to the amount of money the United States spent responding to Hurricanes Irma, Harvey and Maria saying, “we’re spending the money, folks. We’re just not doing it smart. We’re not doing it in the way that would actually sustain us for the long term.”
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Biden's climate envoy to coal workers: You will have better job options under Biden
From CNN's Kate Sullivan
Drew Angerer/Getty Images
President Joe Biden’s special presidential envoy for climate, John Kerry, on Wednesday attempted to alleviate any fears those working in the oil and gas industry may have about their job security and said these workers will have better job options when the Biden administration’s climate plans are implemented.
“Coal plants have been closing over the last 20 years, so what President Biden wants to do is make sure those folks have better choices, that they have alternatives,” Kerry said at a White House briefing.
He said these workers “have been fed a false narrative” that “somehow dealing with climate is coming at their expense. No it’s not.”
“What’s happening to them is happening because other market forces are already taking place,” Kerry said.
He argued there is “a lot of money to be made in these jobs in these sectors,” including green hydrogen and geothermal heat.
Biden will shortly sign several executive actions related to the climate crisis, including one directing the secretary of the interior to pause on entering into new oil and natural gas leases on public lands or offshore waters.
The ambitious climate plan Biden discussed during the presidential transition seeks to increase public investments for green infrastructure and end carbon emissions from power plants by 2035 and proposes broader public investment in green infrastructure, including $2 trillion for clean energy projects.
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White House sets April deadline for new emissions reduction goal
From CNN's Kevin Liptak
Evan Vucci/AP
President Biden is set to announce a new US goal for emissions reductions by April 22, his climate adviser said Wednesday, a speedier timeline than some had expected as he makes combating climate change a top priority.
Speaking at a White House briefing, Gina McCarthy said the US would announce its so-called Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) — required in the Paris Climate Accord that Biden rejoined — before a summit of leaders scheduled for Earth Day.
When the US joined the Paris accord in 2016, the NDC submitted by the Obama administration was a 26-28% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions below 2005 levels by 2025.
The new submission will likely be higher and have a target date of 2030. During his campaign, Biden set a goal of ensuring that the US achieves net-zero emissions by 2050.
Because the agreement is not a treaty, the goal won’t be legally binding.
McCarthy said agencies across the government would work to develop “the most aggressive NDC that we can” in order to provide leadership to other nations, who will meet in November in Glasgow to update the emissions reduction commitments they made during the Paris summit 2016 years ago.
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Biden climate envoy says working with China on climate needs to happen despite issues between countries
From CNN's Jason Hoffman
Special presidential envoy for climate John Kerry said that the US and China need to work together to combat climate change, and that the work on that problem needs to happen despite various other issues between the two countries.
“Now, with respect to China, obviously we have serious differences with China on some very, very important issues,” former Secretary of State Kerry said, noting he is very familiar with those differences. “Those issues will never be traded for anything that has to do with climate.”
Kerry called climate a stand-alone issue that they have to deal on considering the US, China and the EU make up more than 50% of the emissions worldwide.
National climate advisor Gina McCarthy said that one of the issues the US faces with China is shifting to clean energy that manufactured in America, not other countries. McCarthy praised President Biden’s “Buy America” pledge as a good first step in addressing this to both combat climate change and also advance job growth in America.
Kerry: We have a big agenda in front of us on a global basis:
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Many Republican senators think Trump isn't at risk of conviction in impeachment trial
From CNN's Manu Raju, Ted Barrett and Jeremy Herb
Republican Senate leaders are increasingly confident that former President Trump won’t be at risk of conviction when his impeachment trial begins next month, expecting the votes to stay largely the same as Tuesday’s 55 to 45 test vote over the constitutionality of the trial.
Tuesday’s vote, forced by GOP Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky over whether the trial was constitutional, forced Republicans to go on the record about the trial two weeks before it truly begins.
Just five Republicans split with Paul to oppose his point of order that the trial of an ex-president was unconstitutional, in the clearest sign to date most Republicans aren’t likely to consider convicting Trump and barring him from running for office again.
Senate GOP Whip John Thune told reporters Wednesday he didn’t expect the final vote to shift much from Tuesday, which would leave the Senate well short of the 17 Republicans needed for a two-thirds vote to convict.
Asked if Trump’s actions leading up to the January 6 riots were defensible, Cornyn said, “I’m not going to defend them… I think he’s been held accountable in the court of public opinion already.”
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who said privately leading up to the trial he was keeping an open mind, has not said why he voted with Paul on Tuesday, when he also declined to say whether Trump committed impeachable offenses.
Asked whether supporting Paul was a sign he wouldn’t convict or if he was still open to hearing the evidence, McConnell told CNN Wednesday, “Well, the trial hasn’t started yet. And I intend to participate in that and listen to the evidence.”
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GOP plans to filibuster nomination of homeland security secretary
From CNN's Manu Raju
Sen. John Cornyn, a Republican from Texas, said Republicans plan to object to any efforts to quickly confirm Alejandro Mayorkas to serve as secretary of Homeland Security, telling reporters: “There’s a number of problems with that nomination.”
That means Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer would have to take procedural steps to overcome a filibuster on Mayorkas, something that would require 51 votes but would eat up days of floor time. Schumer has pushed to have Mayorkas confirmed quickly.
While several of Biden’s nominees have been confirmed and have moved at a slower pace than some of his predecessors’ Cabinet picks, Republicans so far have not threatened to filibuster a nominee yet. Mayorkas is now the first.
If confirmed, he is expected to swiftly begin rolling back Trump administration immigration policies, while juggling response to a global pandemic, threats to the homeland, and restoring a department that’s been rattled by leadership turnover and vacancies for the better part of the last four years.
CNN’s Priscilla Alvarez and Geneva Sands contributed reporting to this post.
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Oil industry blasts Biden's federal leasing freeze
From CNN’s Matt Egan
Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Oil industry executives slammed President Joe Biden’s moratorium on new oil and gas leases on federal lands as an attack on the industry that will backfire.
“This is bad for our economy. It’s bad for our national security. It’s bad for our environment and for local communities,” Mike Sommers, the CEO of the American Petroleum Institute (API), told reporters during a conference call Wednesday.
Biden is expected to order a freeze on Wednesday of new leases on federal lands and waters as a way to address the climate crisis.
Sommers said that while the API shares Biden’s goal of addressing climate change, the executive order is “nothing more than an import more oil policy that will weaken US energy leadership, hamper the economic recovery and undermine national security.”
Officials from New Mexico, a state that could be hit particularly hard by the leasing freeze, warned of a hit to local revenue.
“Our state’s education budgets depend heavily on oil and gas revenue,” said Ryan Flynn, president of the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association.
Flynn said New Mexico accounts for 57% of all federal onshore oil production and 31% of federal onshore natural gas production. The state gets about $1 billion in revenue from that federal fossil fuels production.
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Biden spoke with Japan's prime minister today
From CNN's Betsy Klein
President Biden continued his calls with world leaders today, speaking with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, according to a White House readout.
The two discussed North Korea, Covid-19, and climate change, among other topics, and reaffirmed the US-Japan alliance.
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Happening now: White House holds press briefing ahead of Biden signing climate executive actions
From CNN's Maegan Vazquez and Kate Sullivan
Mandel Ngan/Pool/AFP/Getty Images
White House press secretary Jen Psaki is holding a press briefing alongside Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry and National Climate Advisor Gina McCarthy.
President Biden will sign several executive actions related to the climate crisis at a 1:30 p.m. ET event, including one directing the secretary of the interior to pause on entering into new oil and natural gas leases on public lands or offshore waters.
The executive order directs the interior secretary to launch a “rigorous review” of the existing leasing and permitting programs related to fossil fuel development, and to identify steps to double renewable energy production from offshore wind by 2030, according to a fact sheet provided by the White House.
Biden is also expected to establish the climate crisis as an “essential element of U.S. foreign policy and national security.”
The order instructs the director of national intelligence, Avril Haines, to prepare a national intelligence estimate on the security implications of the climate crisis and directs all agencies to develop strategies for integrating climate considerations into their international work.
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Senate Democrats focus on Trump's impeachment trial after one member proposes censure
From CNN's Ali Main and Ali Zaslav
Asked about Sen. Tim Kaine’s drafted resolution to censure former President Trump for his role in inciting the Capitol riot, some of Kaine’s Democratic colleagues made clear on Wednesday that their focus, for now, is on the impeachment trial.
Sen. Debbie Stabenow of Michigan said, “we have to proceed under the Constitution with the trial, and I support that,” noting it is senators’ “responsibility” to complete the trial now that they’ve been sworn in as jurists.
Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey said he’ll do his “obligation under the Constitution” to serve as a juror. “If the verdict is such that leads the President without any consequence from what took place on that day, then I would consider other options,” he said.
A few other senators seemed more open to the idea, which has not yet garnered much appetite from party leadership.
Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware said he has talked with Kaine and has asked his legal team to look into the censure effort. He noted that Kaine’s resolution includes “the elements of the 14th Amendment that lead to disqualification from future officeholding.”
“That’s intriguing to me and something I’m willing to look at. The bottom line here is we have to deliver accountability for the events of Jan. 6,” he said.
Meanwhile, Sen. Lisa Murkowski — one of the five Republicans to join Democrats in affirming the constitutionality of Trump’s trial — signaled interest in censuring the former President, but wants to see the language. “Yes, I’d be interested in looking at what the language of a censure might be,” Murkowski said.
