Leaked Call Exposes Environmentalists Trying To Deceive Congress And Kill Pro-Energy Agreement

A leaked transcript shows environmental groups planning to defeat a bipartisan Senate permitting bill while keeping their plans from the Democrats who helped write it, Daily Wire reports. On a call organized partly by the Sierra Club and joined by 89 participants, Brett Hartl of the Center for Biological Diversity said everyone present needed to agree the aim was to stop the measure, not improve it. He asked any group planning to stay neutral to leave. Hartl later confirmed the transcript's authenticity to Punchbowl and said someone on the call had betrayed the coalition.

The Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026, introduced September 30, was negotiated by Sens. Mike Lee, Shelley Moore Capito, Martin Heinrich and Sheldon Whitehouse. It sets deadlines for environmental reviews and for lawsuits, including 150 days for certain challenges under the National Environmental Policy Act, and shields permitted projects from later reversal.

Erik Schlenker-Goodrich of the Western Environmental Law Center objected that litigation against energy projects would become harder, and that a future Democratic administration would lose room to favor renewables. Stephen Schima of Earthjustice also condemned the review changes. Industry backing includes the American Clean Power Association and the American Petroleum Institute.

Summarized by PolitiKool from Daily Wire’s reporting. Read the full story at Daily Wire →