Climate science, policy, politics, and action
The Democratic National Committee Winter Meeting is taking place at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Md.
| January 29 | January 30 | January 31 | February 1 |
|---|
U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, will convene a nomination hearing for Howard Lutnick, President Donald Trump’s nominee to be U.S. Secretary of Commerce.
Nominee:
The largest agency in the Department of Commerce is the 12,000-employee National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Project 2025 calls for the breakup of NOAA and the privatization of weather forecasts.
Lutnick is the billionaire CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald.
In recent public interviews, Lutnick has reflected Trump’s positions on the Biden administration’s climate law, saying in an interview on Fox News last month that the Inflation Reduction Act should be called the “Inflation Creation Act.”
“You just pump this money out, eggs get more expensive, french fries, right?” said Lutnick. “It’s a hosing of America, and we’ve got to stop it.”
During an interview in late October, Lutnick called for cutting billions from agencies, including the Interior Department, which he said should more rightly be called the “department of all the land and mineral rights of the United States of America.”
Among the companies that Cantor Fitzgerald has invested in that have benefited significantly from the IRA are Invenergy, a renewable energy firm that is the top constituent of the Cantor Fitzgerald Infrastructure Fund.
The infrastructure fund has over $150 million in total net assets, according to a July press release, and its investment in Invenergy consists of 14.65% of that fund’s total investments. The fund is also heavily invested in NextEra Energy, the largest U.S. renewable energy developer.
Full committee hearing. Kennedy’s hearing before the HELP committee is on January 30th.
Nominee:
Kennedy’s vaccine denial and covid conspiratorialism has infected his rhetoric on climate change as well.
“Americans had enough of that during Covid, of people using the crisis — that many people believe now was manufactured — in order to clamp down totalitarian controls and shift wealth upward. And they see a mirror of that in climate.”
When he was running for president, Kennedy hired Del Bigtree, an anti-vaccine activist who rejects climate science, as his communications director. He then endorsed Trump for president.
_bc8aa1f5-2f02-425a-bd55-327c2217ece7.png?alt=media&token=ed332bda-70b2-4bf9-9788-959de6ecd831)
While there is currently no shortage of debate about the Democratic brand, questions about our data infrastructure and the broader information ecosystem in which we operate feel just as urgent. The next DNC Chair will have a tremendous opportunity to set a vision and a strategy that prioritizes innovation and that brings our Party into the future in how it manages its data, leverages technology, empowers its candidates, and reaches its voters on the channels and platforms where they actually spend their time.
During the 2024 Election Tech Debrief Conference, DNC chair candidates are invited to join virtually to share their plans around media and technology, only a few short days before the election. While the broader Election Tech Debrief conference is closed to the public, this panel will be open to a wider audience and broadcast live.
Moderators:
The White House has just frozen federal funding, a move that could halt payments within days to states and households relying on essential programs like SNAP food aid, housing assistance, education, healthcare, and climate initiatives.
This illegal and unconstitutional decision jeopardizes the very programs that keep families fed, communities safe, and our climate protected. From struggling households to public schools and climate protections - this move is dangerous and must be called out.
Join our rally to push back against this reckless, illegal, and unconstitutional decision. Let’s show them that our movement is strong, united, and ready to defend what’s right. Organized by the Green New Deal Network, Climate Action Campaign, and Move On.
Corner of 17th Street Northwest & Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest
Candidates vying for the position of Democratic National Committee chair will convene in Charleston on Friday, Jan. 24, for a forum hosted by South Carolina Democrats and Southern Region DNC members. Organizers include Alan Clendenin, Chair of the Democratic National Committee’s (DNC) Southern Caucus, and Susan Swecker, Southern Regional Vice President for the Association of State Democratic Committees.
The event, set to begin at 6 p.m. will take place at the American Theater, located at 446 King Street, with a reception to follow.
The confirmed candidates include former Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley, Minnesota Democratic Farmer-Labor Party State Chair Ken Martin, Wisconsin Democratic Party State Chair Ben Wikler, political strategist Jason Paul. Nate Snyder and Dr. Quintessa Hathaway joined the forum as well.
SCDP Chair Christale Spain expressed her enthusiasm for hosting this event, stating:
“As State Chair of the First in the Nation Democratic Presidential Primary State, I’m excited to welcome Democratic leaders from across the South who are deeply committed to advancing the priorities that matter most to our diverse communities. This forum is a unique opportunity for Southern DNC members to bring their voices, particularly those of Black and rural voters, into this critical DNC Chair election process.”
This forum will focus on the DNC’s Western Regional States: Alaska, American Samoa, Arizona, California, Colorado, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Northern Mariana Islands, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming, and Democrats Abroad.
The following reporters will moderate the Western Regional DNC Officer Forum:
Schedule: *All Times are Approximate and Subject to Change
Qualified DNC Officer Candidates (newly qualified in bold):
Candidates for Chair
Candidates for Treasurer
Candidates for Secretary
Candidates for National Finance Chair
Candidates for Vice Chair for Civic Engagement and Voter Participation
Candidates for Vice Chair
Full committee hearing.
Nominee:
The former CEO and president of the extremist Texas Public Policy Foundation, Rollins is a climate denier. She claimed, at a climate-denial conference held by Heartland Institute in 2018, that “We know the research of CO2 being a pollutant is just not valid.”
On Thursday, January 23, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. in room 1324 Longworth House Office Building, the Committee on Natural Resources, Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries will hold a legislative hearing on the following bills:
Full committee business meeting.
The purpose of the business meeting is to consider the matters on the attached agenda and short list. These are the listed nominations and an amendment to Rule 6(b) of the Committee’s Rules. The change in Rule 6(b) is necessary for the Committee’s Rules to remain in compliance with the Rules of the Senate with respect to the quorum necessary to report legislation and nominations.
Agenda:
Doug Burgum, whose nomination hearing was January 16th, was reported favorably by the committee by a vote of 18-2.
Sens. Wyden (D-Ore.) and Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) were the only no votes; Democrats Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Catherine Cortez-Masto (D-Nev.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), and Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) voted with the 11 Republicans in favor.
Chris Wright, whose nomination hearing was January 15th, was reported favorably by the committee by a vote of 15-5. (The clerk incorrectly verbally reported the vote as 15-6.)
Sens. Wyden, Hirono, Cantwell, Cortez-Masto, and Padilla voted no. Democrats Heinrich, Kaine, Hickenlooper, and Gallego voted with the 11 Republicans in favor.