Clean Energy
The 22 GOP Senators Who Urged Trump To Drop Paris Deal Took Over $10 Million From Big Oil
The twenty-two Republican senators who wrote a letter to President Trump urging him to withdraw from the Paris climate accord when he was on the fence have received more than $10m from oil, gas and coal companies the past three election cycles, according to a report by The Guardian.
The bought and paid for senators, whose names include Oklahoma’s James Inhofe and Kentucky’s Mitch McConnell, and Rand Paul, signed a letter to Trump this week urging him to withdraw from the Paris deal.
The Guardian reports:
Trump had been said to be on the fence about the deal. Members of his inner circle, including his daughter, were reported to favor staying in.
“We strongly encourage you to make a clean break from the Paris Agreement,” read the letter, drafted by Wyoming’s John Barrasso, chairman of the Senate committee on environment and public works, and Oklahoma’s Jim Inhofe, a longtime climate change denier and senior member of that committee.
The letter argued that the Paris deal threatened Trump’s efforts to rescind the clean power plan, an Obama-era set of regulations and guidelines that include emissions caps and other rules deemed onerous by the fossil fuel industries.
The Guardian also provided a breakdown of donations the oil, gas, and coal industries have contributed to the 22 GOP senators since 2012:
James Inhofe, Oklahoma
Oil & gas: $465,950
Coal: $63,600
Total: $529,550
John Barrasso, Wyoming
Oil & gas: $458,466
Coal: $127,356
Total: $585,822
Mitch McConnell, Kentucky
Oil & gas: $1,180,384
Coal: $361,700
Total: $1,542,084
John Cornyn, Texas
Oil & gas: $1,101,456
Coal: $33,050
Total: $1,134,506
Roy Blunt, Missouri
Oil & gas: $353,864
Coal: $96,000
Total: $449,864
Roger Wicker, Mississippi
Oil & gas: $198,816
Coal: $25,376
Total: $224,192
Michael Enzi, Wyoming
Oil & gas: $211,083
Coal: $63,300
Total: $274,383
Mike Crapo, Idaho
Oil & gas: $110,250
Coal: $26,756
Total: $137,006
Jim Risch, Idaho
Oil & gas: $123,850
Coal: $25,680
Total: $149,530
Thad Cochran, Mississippi
Oil & gas: $276,905
Coal: $15,000
Total: $291,905
Mike Rounds, South Dakota
Oil & gas: $201,900
Coal: none
Total: $201,900
Rand Paul, Kentucky
Oil & gas: $170,215
Coal: $82,571
Total: $252,786
John Boozman, Arkansas
Oil & gas: $147,930
Coal: $2,000
Total: $149,930
Richard Shelby, Alabama
Oil & gas: $60,150
Coal: $2,500
Total: $62,650
Luther Strange, Alabama
(Appointed in 2017, running in 2017 special election)
Total: NA
Orrin Hatch, Utah
Oil & gas: $446,250
Coal: $25,000
Total: $471,250
Mike Lee, Utah
Oil & gas: $231,520
Coal: $21,895
Total: $253,415
Ted Cruz, Texas
Oil & gas: $2,465,910
Coal: $103,900
Total: $2,569,810
David Perdue, Georgia
Oil & gas: $184,250
Coal: $0
Total: $184,250
Thom Tillis, North Carolina
Oil & gas: $263,400
Coal: $0
Total: $263,400
Tim Scott, South Carolina
Oil & gas: $490,076
Coal: $58,200
Total: $548,276
Pat Roberts, Kansas
Oil & gas: $388,950
Coal: $28,825
Total: $417,775
Grand total: $10,694,284
