EXCLUSIVE — Two House Republicans got into a tense exchange Thursday over whether the GOP is winning on the issue of climate change, underlining the growing political divisions within the conference as the matter becomes more salient for voters.
The exchange occurred between Reps. John Curtis (R-UT) and Rep. Tom McClintock (R-CA) during a meeting hosted by the House Republican Policy Committee. More than 20 members had gathered to discuss an environmental indicators report released by the committee, with former Trump Interior Secretary David Bernhardt presenting the data. However, the conversation eventually evolved on how to message on the environment and climate change, with several members expressing alarm that polling on the issue and conversations with constituents were not matching with the party’s direction.
“You can push back on the science, and you can be right. But it’s not working,” Curtis, the founder of the House Conservative Climate Caucus, said. “This is the table where energy policy decisions are being made. Republicans are not at the table because we just don’t engage in the right way.”
McClintock pushed back on Curtis’s comments, asserting that Republicans are coming out on top of the issue.
“We’re actually winning that debate because people are feeling the impact of [Democrats’] policies,” McClintock said. “This strategy is absolutely self-defeating, and I’m sorry to be so passionate about it, but it pisses me off.”
Curtis eventually left halfway through the meeting, the reason being, he told the Washington Examiner, a scheduled call. Still, he mentioned it was the first time a clash like that occurred between him and his colleagues and said he did not expect the argument to happen.
“It was not my crowd,” Curtis, who earlier this month announced a run for Senate, said. “To me, it was nothing personal.”
Other Republicans had noted that the argument was out of the ordinary, underlining that the policy meetings are not usually that heated.
The strained interaction underlines the growing divisions within the caucus on the issue of climate change, as Republican voters, particularly younger ones, are increasingly urging policy leaders to begin addressing the issue instead of ignoring it. A December CNN poll showed that nearly 3 out of 4 people support significant emission reduction policies, including 50% of Republicans, among a national sample of 1,795 adults. Furthermore, the issue of climate change has been center stage during the GOP presidential primaries, with candidates repeatedly being asked if they believe in climate and their plans to reduce emissions, an issue that the caucus has historically ignored.
Other Republicans inquired about how the party should be politically messaging the issue. Rep. Debbie Lesko (R-AZ) had asked Bernhardt about how the conference should proceed, referencing polling that shows voters do believe in climate change, but juxtaposed it to former President Donald Trump’s view, the GOP presidential front-runner, who previously called climate change a “hoax.”
Bernhardt advised the group to “hold the line” on rebutting the media’s characterization of climate change, referencing terms such as “existential threat.”
“It’s partially because no one wants to take on the issue,” Bernhardt said. “We’ve let that narrative fester.”
Other conservative members discussed how to tackle the conversation without outright denialism of certain facts and to leverage the narrative to get legislative priorities across.
“I think there’s a way to get what we want out of this deal,” said Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ), a member of the House Freedom Caucus. “The water levels are rising. So why aren’t you doing desalination? How do you produce that energy from desalinization? It’s called modular nuclear.”
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Bernhardt was originally there to present data from the RPC’s latest Environmental Indicators report for 2023, data given to lawmakers to help create talking points on the environment and energy while combating Democratic messaging. The report, according to a pamphlet provided to members, would aim to “debunk the need for excessive and destructive regulatory actions.”
Throughout the report, the document outlines statistics that indicate the globe is far from running out of oil and natural gas reserves, with reserves growing faster than demand. The report also asserts that air quality in the United States is cleaner than 40 years ago.
