If successful, this would be the first time Congress has turned to the Congressional Review Act to undo a rule under a Democratic president. The Trump administration used the 1996 law, the brainchild of former GOP House speaker Newt Gingrich, to reverse more than a dozen rules issued by the Obama administration on a wide variety of issues, including water pollution, worker safety and online privacy. Senate Democrats will also try to use the law to strike down an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission rule under Trump they argue gives employers an unfair advantage when settling discrimination claims.
The effort on methane is a part of a broader, government-wide plan forming under President Biden to tackle global warming and meet his goal of eliminating the country’s contributions to climate change by the middle of the century.