Schumer Blasts Trump's Energy Order: Payoff to 'Big Oil and Special Interests'

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer ripped President Donald Trump Tuesday for his executive order rolling back the energy regulations of the Obama administration, saying that the directive lines the "pockets of big oil and special interests."

The New York Democrat slammed the president on Twitter:

If there was any doubt that big oil was back in charge under the Trump administration, today’s executive order lays that to rest.

— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) March 28, 2017

The US should be investing in cleaner water & air & renewable energy, not ignoring scientific facts & rolling back #climatechange progress.

— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) March 28, 2017

Trump admin has put American people's health & our planet's future on the back burner, lining the pockets of big oil & special interests.

— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) March 28, 2017

Trump's order begins a review of the Clean Power Plan, which restricts greenhouse gas emissions at coal-fired power plants.

The law sought to curb carbon emissions — and it has been challenged by Republican-led states and those who profit from burning oil, coal and gas.

Trump's move also lifts a 14-month-old moratorium on new coal leases on federal lands.

The Obama administration had imposed a three-year moratorium on new federal coal leases in January 2016, arguing that the $1 billion-a-year program must be modernized to ensure a fair financial return to taxpayers and address climate change.

Trump declared that the order signaled "an end to the war on coal."

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