Tom Cotton on NY Banning Gas Stoves: ‘So Much for a Right-Wing Conspiracy!’

New York is set to ban gas stoves in new constructions, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) pointed out Monday, noting that the left’s desire to ban gas stoves was not a “right-wing conspiracy” after all.

“New York is banning gas stoves. Just like the Biden Administration tried to do before they got caught,” the senator exclaimed, adding, “So much for a right-wing conspiracy!”:

Indeed, New York is moving to ban the use of natural gas in new buildings via the state’s $229 billion state budget deal. According to the Wall Street Journal, “One of the legislation’s most noticeable effects would be an end to gas stoves in new homes, along with other gas-powered appliances such as water heaters, furnaces and clothes dryers.”

Further, a spokeswoman for Gov. Kathy Hochul’s (D) office, Katy Zielinski, said last week that the law would “not have any loopholes that will undermine the intent of this measure,” addressing concerns from environmental activists who feared local governments would find a way to exempt themselves from the rule.

“There will not be any option for municipalities to opt out,” she added, although there could be exemptions for what the New York Times described as “facilities that may need to use fossil fuels for emergency backup power, including hospitals and laboratories.”

Hochul’s office is still trying to iron out the other details, as well.

“We are looking at reliability issues still, meaning if there is a proposal to build a new building after 2025 but there is a lack of electric capacity in that region, how will we handle that?” Zielinski said, adding that they “don’t want to build new buildings if the local grid does not have the energy to be able to power them.”

Former Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY), who challenged Hochul in last year’s gubernatorial race, deemed the new proposal a “terrible idea.”

“The Democrats enthusiastically pummeling New York into the ground are about to pass a statewide ban of gas hookups on new construction. Such a terrible idea! Kathy Hochul and her cohorts are fast tracking the downward spiral of a once greatest state,” he said:

The Democrats enthusiastically pummeling New York into the ground are about to pass a statewide ban of gas hookups on new construction. Such a terrible idea! Kathy Hochul and her cohorts are fast tracking the downward spiral of a once greatest state.

— Lee Zeldin (@leezeldin) April 27, 2023

New York’s move comes months after the Biden administration initially signaled it sought to ban gas stoves — a proposal that came with severe backlash, resulting in a walkback and denial from fact checkers.

RELATED — GOP Rep. Burgess: Biden’s Weighing Forcing Electric Stoves when Electricity Prices Are Skyrocketing

However, as Breitbart News’s John Nolte pointed out, despite what “fact checkers” claimed, the Biden administration still seeks to do just that via a “backdoor ban by way of outrageous regulations only four percent of gas stoves will meet.”

“And it’s being done, not through democracy and our elected representatives, but by fascist bureaucrats in the Department of Energy,” he reported.

Meanwhile, the regulators in the San Francisco Bay Area are moving in a similar direction in the name of climate change, recently voting to eliminate natural gas-powered furnaces and water heaters starting in 2027.