Trump targets climate change policies, claiming threat to national security
Happy Wednesday and welcome to the AM Alert!
TRUMP TAKES AIM AT CAP-AND-TRADE
After talking up his efforts to revive the struggling coal industry, President Donald Trump on Tuesday issued an executive order taking aim at California and other states with climate change mitigation policies that he claims undercut executive authority and “weaken our national security and devastate Americans by driving up energy costs.”
“Many states have enacted, or are in the process of enacting, burdensome and ideologically motivated ‘climate change’ or energy policies that threaten American energy dominance and our economic and national security,” Trump said in the order.
He singled out California’s flagship cap-and-trade program, which he said “punishes carbon use by adopting impossible caps on the amount of carbon businesses may use, all but forcing businesses to pay large sums to ‘trade’ carbon credits to meet California’s radical requirements.”
Trump declared state-level efforts to curb emissions as incompatible with federal priorities.
“These state laws and policies are fundamentally irreconcilable with my administration’s objective to unleash American energy. They should not stand,” Trump said.
The order directed Attorney General Pam Bondi to coordinate with federal agencies to identify state or local policies deemed “unconstitutional, preempted by federal law, or otherwise unenforceable,” with potential legal action to follow.
“California’s climate laws are proven to clean the air and protect public health, and they have been upheld by the courts time and time again,” said Daniel Villasenor, a spokesperson for Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Last week, Newsom asked world leaders to spare the Golden State from retaliatory tariffs after Trump instituted a series of 10% taxes on outgoing products. Global markets have been careening ever since.
SUPREME COURT PAUSES REINSTATEMENT OF 16,000 FEDERAL WORKERS
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday reversed a San Francisco federal judge’s order for the Office of Personnel Management to immediately rehire 16,000 federal employees whom the office had fired as part of a Department of Government Efficiency-led purge.
In a 7-2 decision, the judges paused U.S. Senior District Court Judge William Alsup’s March 13 decision requiring OPM to reinstate workers from the departments of the Interior, Defense, Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, Energy and Treasury. Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented.
The high court ruled that the nonprofits behind the original suit, which was backed by federal unions like the American Federation of Government Employees, did not have standing to sue. The judges did not weigh in on the unions’ claims protesting their members’ firings, which are currently under litigation.
More than 56,000 workers across the federal government have been fired as of Tuesday, according to a New York Times tracker. Some of those workers have been temporarily reinstated following legal action.
CLAMPING DOWN ON COCKFIGHTING
Via Kate Wolffe...
After a hearing Tuesday at the state Capitol, a few dozen men assembled in the hallway, gathering to watch a debate on legislation concerning rooster ownership.
I heard a cheer from upstairs and found dozens more men — many clad in baseball caps and boots, some speaking in Spanish — crowding around TVs as lawmakers discussed Assembly Bill 928.
The bill, AB 928 authored by Assemblymember Chris Rogers, D-Ukiah, would limit the number of roosters on a property to three per acre or 25 total on a single property. Rogers’ office, which teamed up with the Humane Society of the United States, calls it the “Cockfighting Cruelty Act.”
The bill defines cockfighting as “forcing two animals with metal weapons attached to their legs to fight to the death.”
“It is illegal in California to possess birds for the purpose of cockfighting yet it is an exceedingly difficult crime to enforce because officers must prove intent,” Rogers said in a February news release. Violations would carry fines of up to $2,500.
The men at the hearing had lined up to oppose the bill. In conversations, some described breeding birds for show. Others raised concerns about property rights and potential government overreach.
Many said they were with the California Association for the Preservation of Gamefowl, which organized members to travel to Sacramento in protest.
David Devereaux, speaking for the association, argued the bill would unfairly impact Latinos.
“AB 928 targets a largely ethnic community dedicated to the historical preservation of breeding gamefowl,” Devereaux said. “The CAPG, which has sanctioned hundreds of legitimate gamefowl shows in the state, estimates that 90% of the gamefowl breeding community are of Hispanic descent.”
The bill now heads to the Assembly Appropriations Committee for a fiscal analysis.
CONGRESSMAN: PUT PEOPLE OVER PARKING
Via David Lightman...
Here’s a strategy for building more affordable housing: Cut down on parking.
Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Long Beach, Tuesday proposed the “People over Parking Act.” It would end local zoning requirements for a minimum amount of parking. That, in turn, would encourage the construction of new, affordable homes, businesses and retail, he said.
“For far too long, mandatory parking minimums have driven up the cost of housing and limited the development of vibrant and accessible communities,” Garcia said. “We shouldn’t be paving parking lots where homes, stores, and restaurants should be. By removing unnecessary parking minimums, we can lower construction costs, increase the availability of housing, and make housing more affordable for everyone while making our neighborhoods more connected and sustainable.”
It’s not clear where the bill is headed, since Republicans control the House agenda. Garcia’s effort is part of the mission of the bipartisan Yes In My Backyard Caucus. The caucus was launched in November to push for more affordable housing.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“That was unfair to bricks.” —Elon Musk on calling senior trade adviser Peter Navarro “dumber than a sack of bricks.” The White House advisers have clashed over Trump’s tariffs.
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