Democrats’ sweeping midterm victories have cast new doubt on the prospects for bipartisan permitting reform, with many lawmakers now questioning whether a compromise negotiated under a different political landscape still makes sense. Despite the near-term uncertainty, some observers believe divided government can still create opportunities for major energy and environmental legislation.
Although it might be difficult to imagine Democrats finding common ground with Trump on these issues, some of the most significant US environmental and energy laws were enacted during periods of divided government, Bracewell’s Scott Segal told Inside Climate News.
“When there’s a distribution of leverage, you can create the conditions for advancing legislation, provided that people on both sides of the aisle don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good,” Segal said. “Almost every major environmental statute occurred under exactly these circumstances, with Dems controlling both houses of Congress and a strong Republican in the White House.”