Dems cry foul over drill plan Say politics is affecting policy
WASHINGTON — Opposition to a Trump administration plan to expand offshore drilling mounted yesterday as Democrats from coastal states accused the president of punishing them — while a federal spokeswoman shot back the blue states haven’t asked for exemptions.
Democrats said President Trump and Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke are being hypocritical by agreeing to a request by Florida’s Republican governor to withdraw from the drilling plan, without making the same accommodation to states with Democratic governors.
U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said on Twitter that his state, “like Florida, has hundreds of miles of beautiful coastline and a governor who wants to keep it that way. Or is that not enough for blue states?”
“If local voices matter, why haven’t they excluded Virginia?” asked Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) “Is it because the governor of Florida is a Republican and the Virginia governor is a Democrat?”
Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) said on Twitter that “the only science @SecretaryZinke follows is political science. He’ll reverse course to protect fellow Republicans in Florida, but not to protect coastlines and jobs across the rest of the country? Totally unacceptable.”
Heather Swift, a spokeswoman for Zinke, accused the Democrats of taking cheap shots.
“The secretary has said since day one that he is interested in the local voice. If those governors would like to request meetings with the secretary, they are absolutely welcome to do so,” she said. “Their criticism is empty pandering.”
As of yesterday, only South Carolina Republican Gov. Henry McMaster and Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper of North Carolina had requested a meeting with Zinke on offshore drilling, Swift said.