Democratic mega-donor Tom Steyer praised Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez’s (D-N.Y.) proposed Green New Deal in an interview that aired Wednesday on Hill.TV, but said many changes would likely be made to the proposal.
“I think she’s done us a signal service by coming up with a plan that is larger enough to fit the problem that it’s meant to solve,” Steyer told Hill.TV’s Krystal Ball on “Rising.”
“I think she and [Sen.] Ed Markey [D-Mass.] would agree it’s a first draft,” he continued. “They’re putting something forward, and of course there are going to be many iterations,” he said.
“But I think she’s done something really important, which is to reframe how big that problem is, and to make the point that incremental thinking is not going to solve that problem,” he said. “
The deal, which was introduced by Ocasio-Cortez and Markey last month, aims to for net-zero greenhouse gas emissions in the United States while creating millions of “good, high-wage jobs.”
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnel (R-Ky.) plans to force a vote on the resolution, which has no chance of passing through the upper chamber, in the coming weeks.
Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) slammed McConnell for the move on Wednesday, saying it was a “diversion” from actually having a debate on climate change.
— Julia Manchester
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