The Biden administration's push on climate change is an "ideological statement" made to placate the Democrats' radical base and it's "hopelessly out of touch" because the United States is not at a point where it can switch to alternative energy sources, Sen. John Cornyn said Thursday.
"The fact of the matter is 280 million cars on the road," the Texas Republican said on Fox News' "America's Newsroom." "We won't be able to transition to electric vehicles or other things but we should do what we can to try to reduce emissions which we've done through the use of natural gas."
Further, it's an insult to people who have been working day in and day out with the Keystone pipeline to suggest that they can go to work making solar panels after losing their jobs through President Joe Biden's executive order, said Cornyn, responding to statements made by Biden's climate change team leaders, Gina McCarthy and John Kerry.
Meanwhile, Cornyn discussed the upcoming impeachment trial for former President Donald Trump. The senator was one of 45 Republicans to vote that the proceedings would be unconstitutional, and he said Thursday that the vote was a "big victory for us," but the trial is still happening, starting Feb. 9.
"I'm waiting to see what the impeachment managers present," he said. "They certainly didn't get any witness testimony like they did in the previous one through hearings and cross-examination in the House."
Cornyn added that he shares the concerns of Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., about Trump's second impeachment, as it has become an "unprecedented impeachment of a private citizen who has now left office" and there is no provision in the Constitution for that.
"I think the precedent it sets not just for President Trump but future presidents (when you) can go back and impeach former presidents when you get a new majority in the House and Senate is a dangerous precedent," said Cornyn.
He also said he doesn't think that everyone who showed up at the Capitol on Jan. 6 was guilty of a crime or insurrection.
"We've asked the FBI to alert us about extremist groups that may have infiltrated that group, even foreign intelligence services," said Cornyn.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.