On Thursday’s broadcast of CNN’s “The Lead,” White House national climate adviser Gina McCarthy responded to a question on why the EPA can’t just go to Congress and get them to pass a law granting them the statutory authority the Supreme Court ruled that it currently lacks by stating that the decision is “limited” but “sent a signal that the Supreme Court is interested, continually, in going backwards instead of forwards.”
Host Jake Tapper asked, “So, just to play devil’s advocate for a second, wouldn’t Chief Justice Roberts just say, if you want the statutory authority to do this, go to Congress and get it? You’re going by a law that was long before climate change was a major problem, just go get the statutory authority from Congress. That’s all you have to do.”
McCarthy responded, “Well, the decision itself that Justice Roberts wrote doesn’t take away the statutory authority for EPA to move forward to regulate greenhouse gases. It was a very limited decision. But it did send a signal, and it sent a signal that the Supreme Court is interested, continually, in going backwards instead of forwards. Look, Jake, the private sector is all in on this transition to clean energy, because it makes them money. And we’re interested in it because it creates jobs, it lowers costs for families who are trying to struggle with the energy costs today. And we know we can get this done, and we’re succeeding, which is why this decision actually happened.”
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