Rashida Tlaib, Ro Khanna join protests against expedited oil lease permitting

Democratic Reps. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Ro Khanna of California joined climate activists Tuesday in protesting White House-backed legislation that would fast-track oil and gas drilling.

Tlaib and Khanna were pictured speaking in front of a group of young activists holding signs that read, “Stop the #DirtyDeal.”

#DirtyDeal is the name opponents are giving an effort by Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., to include legislation that overhauls permitting regulations for oil and gas drilling in the must-pass annual defense spending bill. 

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Monday that President Biden supported the measure.

Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) listens as acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan testifies before the House Oversight and Reform Committee on July 18, 2019, in Washington, DC.
(Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

MANCHIN DEAL WITH SCHUMER TO SPUR OIL AND GAS DRILLING JEOPARDIZED BY FAR-LEFT DEMOCRATS

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer agreed to put the Manchin-backed legislation into the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) at the end of the fiscal year in exchange for getting Manchin’s support for President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act in August. However, the permitting reform text ended up being removed from a short-term government funding bill in September after Manchin failed to secure enough support for the proposal.

Now, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., are weighing whether attaching the legislation to the NDAA could risk tanking the larger bill. 

Representatives Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) are detained for their part in an abortion rights protest outside of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 19, 2022. 
(REUTERS/Sarah Silbiger)

For the NDAA to pass, at least 10 GOP supporters will be needed to overcome the 60-vote filibuster threshold within the evenly split Senate.

Schumer and Pelosi are both eager to move legislation before the next Congress takes office in January, but given the narrow margin by which Democrats control the House, the progressive opposition could be vital to tanking the bill.

Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., is seen on the House steps of the Capitol during votes on Friday, December 4, 2020.
(Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Tlaib, Khanna and Rep. Raúl Grijalva, D-Ariz., have already pledged to vote against the NDAA if it includes Manchin’s permitting bill.

“I strongly oppose attaching Manchin’s #DirtyDeal to the NDAA,” Tlaib tweeted Monday. “This would gut bedrock environmental regulations and fast track fossil fuel projects. I refuse to allow our residents in frontline communities to continue to be sacrificed for the fossil fuel industry’s endless greed.”

“I will vote against the rule for NDAA consideration if it includes giveaways to the fossil fuel industry,” Khanna tweeted. “If even 10 House progressives vote against it, it likely can’t pass. We all have a stake in tackling the climate crisis & it’s critical we listen to communities hit hardest.”

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“We can advance permitting for clean energy without taking a hatchet to environmental protections for frontline communities,” tweeted Grijalva. “This is not what @RepMcEachin would have wanted. I will vote against the NDAA rule if we continue with this fossil fuel giveaway.”

Fox News’ Haris Alic contributed to this report.