GOP senators, Manchin challenge SEC climate disclosure rule  

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) joined a resolution from Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) that aims to overturn a new rule on climate disclosures approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) last month. 

Manchin, the chair of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, joined with 32 Republican senators to co-sponsor the resolution. The SEC finalized the climate disclosure rule in a 3-2 vote. Scott introduced the resolution after previously vowing to fight the rule.

“The SEC’s mission is to regulate our capital markets and ensure all Americans can safely share in their economic success — not to force a partisan climate agenda on American businesses. This rule is federal overreach at its worst, and the SEC should stay in its lane,” Scott said in a statement.

The rule would require large companies to inform investors about greenhouse gas emissions directly caused by their business if that information could likely influence someone’s decision on whether to invest.

The rule has now been paused amid mounting legal battles. Republicans celebrated that pause, arguing the agency has overstepped its authority.

Manchin echoed that argument, saying the rule was “entirely overreaching, fiscally irresponsible, and simply un-American.” He was the only Democratic co-sponsor. But Manchin hails from a state where the coal industry is king, and he has helped promote its interests on the national level.

“This deliberate targeting of fossil fuel companies not only threatens our economic security, but also sends a strong signal of opposition to the all-of-the-above energy policy that is absolutely critical to our country and our allies right now,” he said in a statement.

The resolution would overturn the new rule, but it faces an uphill battle in Congress. It would still need President Biden’s signature for the rule to be overturned, or Congress would need to override a potential veto.