As the backlash over President Trump‘s withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement continues to grow, most would agree that the decision didn’t come as much of a surprise given that his stated views on the subject echoes the GOP establishment. But some held out hope that Trump’s daughter Ivanka would sway him to remain, given her vocal support of climate change issues.
That didn’t turn out to be the case, and Ivanka was notably absent from the assembly of White House officials were present for the announcement.
Just as Trump’s views on climate change are no secret, so is the influence of the oil, gas, and coal industries over the GOP. That influence was once again made apparent when 22 Republican senators signed a letter to Trump this week urging him to withdraw from the agreement. The senators, whose names include Oklahoma’s James Inhofe and Kentucky’s Mitch McConnell, and Rand Paul, have been bought out by fossil fuel interests to the tune of over $10 million.
“We strongly encourage you to make a clean break from the Paris Agreement,” read the letter co-drafted by Inhofe, who once brought a snowball to the Senate floor as proof against climate change.
From the Guardian:
Donations from oil, gas and coal interests to the signatories of the letter are Open Secrets that seemed ready for a new review. A Guardian survey of Federal Elections Commission data organized by the Center for Responsive Politics found that the industries gave a total of $10,694,284 to the 22 senators over the past three election cycles.
Visible donations to Republicans from those industries exceeded donations to Democrats in the 2016 election cycle by a ratio of 15-to-1, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. And that does not include so-called dark money passed from oil interests such as Koch industries to general slush funds to re-elect Republicans such as the Senate leadership fund.
Here’s a breakdown of donations to GOP senators from the oil, gas, and coal industries from the past three election cycles, via the Guardian:
James Inhofe, Oklahoma
Oil & gas: $465,950
Coal: $63,600
Total: $529,550
John Barrasso, Wyoming
Oil & gas: $458,466
Coal: $127,356
Total: $585,822
Mitch McConnell, Kentucky
Oil & gas: $1,180,384
Coal: $361,700
Total: $1,542,084
John Cornyn, Texas
Oil & gas: $1,101,456
Coal: $33,050
Total: $1,134,506
Roy Blunt, Missouri
Oil & gas: $353,864
Coal: $96,000
Total: $449,864
Roger Wicker, Mississippi
Oil & gas: $198,816
Coal: $25,376
Total: $224,192
Michael Enzi, Wyoming
Oil & gas: $211,083
Coal: $63,300
Total: $274,383
Mike Crapo, Idaho
Oil & gas: $110,250
Coal: $26,756
Total: $137,006
Jim Risch, Idaho
Oil & gas: $123,850
Coal: $25,680
Total: $149,530
Thad Cochran, Mississippi
Oil & gas: $276,905
Coal: $15,000
Total: $291,905
Mike Rounds, South Dakota
Oil & gas: $201,900
Coal: none
Total: $201,900
Rand Paul, Kentucky
Oil & gas: $170,215
Coal: $82,571
Total: $252,786
John Boozman, Arkansas
Oil & gas: $147,930
Coal: $2,000
Total: $149,930
Richard Shelby, Alabama
Oil & gas: $60,150
Coal: $2,500
Total: $62,650
Luther Strange, Alabama
(Appointed in 2017, running in 2017 special election)
Total: NA
Orrin Hatch, Utah
Oil & gas: $446,250
Coal: $25,000
Total: $471,250
Mike Lee, Utah
Oil & gas: $231,520
Coal: $21,895
Total: $253,415
Ted Cruz, Texas
Oil & gas: $2,465,910
Coal: $103,900
Total: $2,569,810
David Perdue, Georgia
Oil & gas: $184,250
Coal: $0
Total: $184,250
Thom Tillis, North Carolina
Oil & gas: $263,400
Coal: $0
Total: $263,400
Tim Scott, South Carolina
Oil & gas: $490,076
Coal: $58,200
Total: $548,276
Pat Roberts, Kansas
Oil & gas: $388,950
Coal: $28,825
Total: $417,775
Grand total: $10,694,284
Featured image via Gage Skidmore (Flickr)
