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Nancy Pelosi Singles Out “Relentless” Senator From Tiny State

by in Daily Edition | August 21, 2023

Rep. Nancy Pelosi,

Rep. Nancy Pelosi, photo: US Department of Labor, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Celebrating the one-year anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), Democrats were out in force positioning the legislation as a generational game-changer for American jobs and future-facing industry like green energy. Vice President Kamala Harris claimed in bullet points that the IRA “cuts prescription drug prices. It lowers energy costs. It tackles the climate crisis. It creates good-paying jobs. And it creates a fairer tax system.”

The IRA’s emphasis for green energy initiatives has been one of the signature issues for Rhode Island Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, who has had — to hear former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tell it — an outsize influence on the Democratic Party’s legislative successes.

Pelosi, who as a 36-year-House veteran understands Congress as well as anybody in Washington, singled out Whitehouse for his contributions, a shout-out the Senator was proud to share.

“I want to tip my hat to Sheldon Whitehouse,” Pelosi says above, “relentless, persistent, just there whether it’s a COP meeting…or a small little press conference…he is always there and I thank him for his persistent leadership.”

Whitehouse maintains he is not an idealogue, but rather simply fighting for what’s best for Rhode Island, which he says is among the states most heavily impacted by climate change.

Whitehouse’s outsize contribution, as Pelosi describes it, is a measure of his diligence in service to Democratic priorities, but Whitehouse’s influence is also outsize as measured against the size of his constituency.

Whereas the Senators from Pelosi’s state (Dianne Feinstein and Alex Padilla) represent about 40 million California residents, Whitehouse, as one of the two Senators from Rhode Island, represents a little more than a million Rhode Islanders, or a half million each if you divide the state’s constituency by two. (The other Rhode Island Senator is Whitehouse’s fellow Democrat Jack Reed, first elected in 1997.)

And Whitehouse is relentless, on social media and in Congress, on green issues. When he is not demanding increased ethical accountability from the Supreme Court, Whitehouse, a lawyer, has been extremely vocal in his disparaging criticism of the fossil fuel industry, which he says routinely places profits over people and the planet.

Just today, commenting on a dearth of investment by Big Oil in renewable energy, Whitehouse jabbed: “Fossil fuel investment in clean energy is ‘well short of where it needs to be.’ On the other hand, fossil fuel investment in political obstruction and lies remains robust.”

The IRA passed without any Republican support and despite job growth in various red states, GOP lawmakers remain largely in opposition to the legislation. While Dems were busy promoting the anniversary of the IRA, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy shared a post by Rep. David Schweikert of Arizona, assailing it.