Mike Pence: Energy wonk?

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Apr 19, 2023 View in browser   By Scott Waldman and Lamar Johnson Presented by Former Vice President Mike Pence speaks at the National Review Ideas Summit on March 31 in Washington. | Alex Brandon/AP Photo If former Vice President Mike Pence wants to beat his onetime boss in a 2024 presidential primary matchup, he’ll need to find his own lane. Is getting in the weeds on energy policy one way to do that? Pence has been laying the groundwork for months that he may challenge former President Donald Trump for the Republican presidential nomination. And as he has traveled to key states, he has staked out positions on energy that align with Trump. But whereas Trump speaks in general terms, Pence gets into specifics. Thus far, Pence has said he wants to expedite permitting approval for “critical energy infrastructure” like pipelines. He has called for banning “woke capital,” which he defines as environmental, social and governance investments. And he has pledged to “reject climate mandates,” or state and federal regulations. “That Pence is talking about policy is a differentiator,” said Doug Heye, a former communications director of the Republican National Committee. “Donald Trump is an attitude, he’s not a series of policy proposals — and that’s what his campaign always was. Donald Trump is not going to give an energy speech; he can’t really do that.” The state of play: Like Trump, other potential candidates in the GOP primary have an energy policy centered on boosting fossil fuels. Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is running on a record of helping the Trump administration withdraw from the Paris Agreement. South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, who recently announced a presidential exploratory committee, was one of the top Senate recipients of oil and gas money in the 2022 election cycle and pushes for increased fossil fuel production. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, which some see as Trump’s chief rival for the GOP nomination, has leaned into the potential of solar power in Florida and has moved to protect the Everglades. But he never delivered on a campaign promise to ban fracking, and he is a prominent critic of environmental, social and governance investments. A way out of the pack? So far, Pence has stuck to cheerleading Trump-era policies. But if he diverged on renewables, he might differentiate himself both from Trump and from other Republican candidates. Polls have shown for years that young Republicans want their party elders to do more on climate and renewable energy. And red and swing states stand to benefit from a clean energy manufacturing boom. President Joe Biden’s climate law has already kick-started a wave of new battery manufacturing facilities, electric vehicle plants and factories that make solar and wind components — many announced in Republican districts. But Trump has long railed against clean energy. And, for now, Pence and the rest of the potential GOP primary have signaled that they will follow his lead.     A message from NRECA: American families and businesses expect the lights to stay on at a cost they can afford. That’s why electric co-ops returned more than $1.4 billion in cash back to their consumers in 2021. Learn how co-ops are delivering on the promise of reliable and affordable power. #PoweringTomorrow   It's Thursday — thank you for tuning in to POLITICO's Power Switch. We're your hosts, Lamar Johnson and Scott Waldman, filling in for Arianna Skibell. Power Switch is brought to you by the journalists behind E&E News and POLITICO Energy. Send your tips, comments, questions to askibell@eenews.net.   A message from NRECA:   Listen to today’s POLITICO Energy podcast Today in POLITICO Energy’s podcast: Ry Rivard breaks down the public debates surrounding New Jersey's environmental justice rule aimed specifically at protecting low-income communities and communities of color from industrial pollution. Featured story Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) speaks on a cellphone as he walks to a Senate Democratic Caucus policy luncheon at the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday. | Francis Chung/POLITICO A Republican group connected to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is planning to spend more than $1 million on ads that would target Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.V.) well in advance of his 2024 reelection bid. The ad buy will try to tether Manchin to President Joe Biden's landmark climate law in a conservative state that still burns a lot of coal, Burgess Everett and Holly Otterbein write. The announcement and campaign come as West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice (R) is preparing to throw his name in the race later this month.   GO INSIDE THE 2023 MILKEN INSTITUTE GLOBAL CONFERENCE: POLITICO is proud to partner with the Milken Institute to produce a special edition "Global Insider" newsletter featuring exclusive coverage, insider nuggets and unparalleled insights from the 2023 Global Conference, which will convene leaders in health, finance, politics, philanthropy and entertainment from April 30-May 3. This year’s theme, Advancing a Thriving World, will challenge and inspire attendees to lean into building an optimistic coalition capable of tackling the issues and inequities we collectively face. Don’t miss a thing — subscribe today for a front row seat.     Power Centers A patient prepares to take the first of two combination pills, mifepristone, for a medication abortion during a visit to a clinic in Kansas City, Kan., in October 2022. | Charlie Riedel/AP Photo Anti-abortion group uses enviro law An anti-abortion group is eyeing laws designed to protect endangered species in their effort to prohibit the use of mifepristone, a widely used abortion drug, writes Alice Miranda Ollstein. The Supreme Court is weighing an emergency appeal from the Biden administration, which is trying to overturn a lower court's ruling that the drug should be taken off the market. Students for Life said the Food and Drug Administration failed to test whether trace amounts of the pill in wastewater could pose a risk to endangered or threatened species when they approved the drug in 2000. The group petitioned FDA to prohibit the drug until those tests are done. Foreign autos waiting to exhale Some foreign automakers will have to wait at least a year before their customers benefit from tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act, after the Treasury Department narrowed the list of electric vehicle models that qualify, writes David Ferris. The credits are aimed at enticing more U.S. car buyers to the EV market and incentivizing car companies to move manufacturing to the United States. Automakers such as Honda, Kia, Hyundai and Toyota fear that American consumers will turn to their American competitors in the meantime. Volkswagen is the sole foreign automaker approved for the credit, writes Tanya Snyder. Ukraine tells Shell to pay up An economic advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is calling on Shell to donate any profits from selling its Russian assets to Ukrainian rebuilding efforts, writes Gabriel Gavin. A Russian firm is open to buying out Shell's Russian assets, which could net the oil and gas giant more than $1 billion. Zelenskyy's adviser Oleg Ustenko called the potential profits "blood money, pure and simple." In Other News Unhealthy air: The American Lung Association said more than one-third of the U.S. population, almost 120 million people, lived in counties with unhealthy levels of ozone or particle pollution between 2019 and 2021. Western states and minorities suffered the most. El Niño: Weather forecasters think this summer's El Niño will make 2024 the hottest year on record.   A message from NRECA: American families and businesses expect the lights to stay on at a cost they can afford. Our nation’s energy policies must meet this fundamental expectation. But that’s no longer a guarantee. Nine states saw rolling blackouts last December as the demand for electricity exceeded available supply. The electrification of the economy, disorderly retirement and insufficient replacement of existing generation, permitting challenges, supply chain shortages, and the availability of natural gas all impact the reliability of the electric grid. Electric cooperatives are working towards meaningful solutions to address the reliability challenges spreading across the nation. Policymakers can help by recognizing the need for time, technology development, and new transmission infrastructure while supporting policies that are inclusive of all energy sources. Learn how electric co-ops are #PoweringTomorrow.   Subscriber Zone A solar farm in Mona, Utah. | Rick Bowmer, File/AP Photo A showcase of some of our best subscriber content. The U.S. pause on solar tariffs faces a new challenge, after the House Ways and Means Committee advanced a Congressional Review Act resolution today to repeal the final rule. Republicans are expected to bring the measure to the House floor. A new poll found that most Americans aren't in favor of completely phasing out oil, coal and natural gas and using 100 percent renewable energy to fuel the U.S. economy. Russian-affiliated hackers targeted the Caspian Pipeline Consortium in an effort to steal information from a pipeline system that runs between Kazakhstan and the Black Sea, according to Google's Threat Analysis Group. Environmental groups are suing the European Commission over its decision to label nuclear energy and natural gas as "sustainable" in a taxonomy designed to funnel investments into the green energy transition. That's it for today, folks! Thanks for reading.   LISTEN TO POLITICO'S ENERGY PODCAST: Check out our daily five-minute brief on the latest energy and environmental politics and policy news. Don't miss out on the must-know stories, candid insights, and analysis from POLITICO's energy team. Listen today.       Follow us on Twitter Arianna Skibell @ariannaskibell   Follow us

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