New House Speaker Mike Johnson is a staunch supporter of the oil and gas industry, but his record of energy accomplishments in Congress is thin, write Timothy Cama, Kelsey Brugger and Nidhi Prakash. The Louisiana Republican hails from a state that is a critical hub for oil and gas and has received more than $300,000 in campaign contributions from the fossil fuel industry. But Johnson has built his career fighting for socially conservative causes — like restricting abortion — rather than energy and climate. Still, the oil and gas industry cheered the Louisiana Republican’s victory Wednesday, citing his pro-fossil-fuel voting record, which includes a 100 percent score from the American Energy Alliance. Johnson “hails from Louisiana, and energy is a way of life there, so our best guess is that he is approachable on our perspective and will do his own homework,” Stephen Brown, a consultant and former energy lobbyist, told Tim. But some are skeptical that Johnson could get much done, even if he’s inclined to help the oil and gas industry. The industry is largely focused on fighting new regulations, including proposals from the Biden administration to slash planet-warming emissions from cars, power plants and fossil fuel infrastructure. “The challenges with oil and gas right now are with regulatory agencies, and that's with the administration,” said David Dismukes, a Louisiana-based energy industry consultant. Johnson’s main influence may be in the eight spending bills Congress must pass by Nov. 17 to avoid a government shutdown. The Republican has pledged to work through them, though he left open the option of a stopgap bill to move the deadline into January, writes Emma Dumain. Among those bills are the Energy-Water package and legislation to fund the Interior Department and the Environmental Protection Agency. The House bills include deep cuts and have no chance of passing the Democratic-controlled Senate (not to mention, the White House has vowed to veto them) Johnson also pledged to launch talks with the Senate on the National Defense Authorization Act by next month. The GOP-led House version of the bill would bar the Defense Department from implementing President Joe Biden’s executive orders on climate change and requiring defense contractors to disclose their carbon emissions.
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