The actions President Joe Biden has taken in his first week of office alone are "deeply disturbing," spurring a letter to him from a group of state Republican attorneys general to lay out the limits of his executive authority, West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, who spearheaded the effort, said Thursday.
"Any time a new president comes into office you want to give people the benefit of the doubt," Morrisey told Fox News' "Fox & Friends." "What this president is becoming known for, within one week, is that he is willing to go to all ends to use his executive authority to implement his ideas.
Morrisey added that he and his fellow attorneys general are concerned because of the impact on jobs already being seen across so many states, and because they fear Biden will keep using executive actions on major issues throughout his presidency, including to push the Green New Deal.
"We wanted to set up the guidepost so he knows if he takes steps that are inconsistent with the Constitution or the statute, we are going to step up," said Morrisey. "We are that last line of defense with the House and the Senate. [They are] not in control with folks who are willing to stop the Green New Deal. It's going to rest on the Republicans attorney general to make sure that rational decision making occurs."
West Virginia has been hit hard by many decisions on climate change, including the Paris Climate accord, which is "trying to send a message to further shut down coal," said Morrisey. He added that the call against fossil fuel also affects his state's opportunities for natural gas and oil drilling.
"Every time you hear John Kerry or Joe Biden talk about these new jobs or new data, it's equivalent of 'let them eat cake,'" he said. "It's actually something that never materializes but meanwhile we know we are losing these good paying jobs. ... This is a gigantic magic wand they are requesting to waive over West Virginia and suddenly those guys working in the coal mines are going to be making solar panels or things to allow cars to run on water or something else."
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.
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