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Biden Admin Cements Gas Stove Rule After Insisting It Isn’t Going After Gas Stoves

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From the Daily Caller News Foundation

By Nick Pope

 

The Biden administration locked in a gas stove rule on Monday after insisting that it is not trying to ban gas stoves, rejecting efforts by opposed organizations to nix the rule.

The Department of Energy’s (DOE) efficiency rule for gas stoves, announced in January, will come into effect as expected in January 2028, according to a Monday entry in the Federal Register. The finalized rule is less stringent than a 2023 proposal that was subsequently abandoned, and nuance in the rulemaking process allowed for the agency to walk back parts of the regulation if it received a significant volume of negative public comments on the docket, according to E&E News, but the DOE has gone ahead with its rule over the objections of several Republican state attorneys general and advocacy groups, including the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI).

The DOE rolled out the rule as a “direct final rulemaking,” meaning that there was no published proposal for the policy, according to E&E News. The “direct final rulemaking” process also allowed for groups like CEI to leave comments about the rule with a chance of getting the agency to water down the rule.

In its comments, CEI argued that the newer, less aggressive regulation was indeed watered down from the 2023 proposal, but that it nevertheless should be withdrawn because it represents federal overreach and remained a policy that would increase costs for American consumers, according to E&E News and the Federal Register entry. Besides CEI and some Republican attorneys general, the Antonin Scalia Law School Administrative Law Clinic and other groups also commented against the DOE’s rule.

The DOE has asserted that the suggestion the government wants to ban gas stoves is a “myth” and “misinformation.” Notably, Biden administration officials submitted an amicus brief asking a federal court to reverse a decision that nixed Berkeley, California’s 2019 ban on gas hookups in new buildings, a policy that ostensibly would have outlawed the installation of gas stoves in newly-constructed buildings.

“President Biden is committed to using all the tools at the administration’s disposal to lower costs for American families and deliver healthier communities—including energy efficiency measures like the one announced today,” Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said of the rulemaking when it was released in late January.

The DOE’s regulation applies to electric cooktops, gas cooktops, stand-alone electric cooktops, stand-alone gas cooktops and ovens. The rule will likely drive up the costs of particular models up front, but the Biden administration asserts that the policy will save Americans money on their bills over time by reducing the volume of energy household stoves use, according to The Washington Post.

“The new standards will also require only a small portion of models to make modest improvements to their energy efficiency to match the level of efficiency already demonstrated by the majority of the market today,” the agency said in its January press release announcing the rule. “For example, approximately 97 percent of gas stove models and 77 percent of smooth electric stove models on the market already meet these standards.”

Nearly 70% of respondents opposed policies that would essentially ban gas stoves, according to a June 2023 Harvard CAPS Harris poll. More than 80% of Republican respondents and 71% of independents were opposed to policies that would induce a gas stove ban, as were 55% of surveyed Democrats.

Beyond stoves, the DOE has also pushed energy efficiency rules for everyday items like water heatersfurnaces and pool pump motors. The Biden administration has also spent hundreds of millions of dollars to assist state and municipal governments in developing building codes intended to “decarbonize” buildings.

The DOE did not respond immediately to a request for comment.

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Pastor Lectures Trump and Vance On Trans People, Illegal Immigrants

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From the Daily Caller News Foundation

By Nicole Silverio

President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance visibly rolled their eyes as the Episcopal bishop of Washington, Mariann Budde, lectured them on being kind to transgender people and immigrants at Tuesday’s National Prayer Service.

Budde requested that the newly sworn-in president and vice president “have mercy” on gay, lesbian and transgender people as well as illegal immigrants who are allegedly “scared” by the new administration. The new leaders did not appear amused by her lecture, with Vance repeatedly shooting looks to his wife, Second Lady Usha Vance.

“In the name of our God, I ask you to have mercy on the people in our country who are scared now,” Budde said. “There are gay, lesbian and transgender children in Democratic, Republican and independent families, some who fear for their lives. And the people who pick our crops and clean our office buildings, who labor in poultry farms and meat packing plants, who wash the dishes after we eat in restaurants, who work the night shifts in hospitals. They may not be citizens or have the proper documentation, but the vast majority of immigrants are not criminals. They pay taxes and are good neighbors, they are faithful members of churches and our mosques, synagogues and temples.”

WATCH: 

Trump and Vance attended the National Prayer Service along with Usha, First Lady Melania Trump and their families at the Washington National Cathedral. The interfaith service was held to “offer prayers of thanksgiving for our democracy” at the beginning of the new administration, according to a statement from the National Cathedral.

Budde, a staunch critic of Trump since his first term, said during a phone call in 2020 that she was “outraged” by the president’s speech about the importance of law and order at St. John’s Episcopal Church after it was set ablaze by Black Lives Matter protesters. She further seethed at Trump for allegedly being given no notice that the area surrounding the church would be cleared with tear gas.

Trump signed a slew of executive orders Monday evening to terminate birthright citizenship for children born to illegal immigrants, declare a national emergency at the U.S.-Mexico border and to direct the federal government to only recognize two sexes, male and female.

An Axios/Ipsos poll from Sunday found that 66% of Americans support deporting immigrants who entered the U.S. illegally, an action that Trump had promised to enact throughout his campaign. The poll surveyed 1,025 adults between January 10 to 12 with a 3.2% margin of error.

A national poll by PPRI in June 2023 found that 65% of Americans believe there are only two genders. The poll surveyed 5,000 adults between March 9-23 with a 1.5% margin of error.

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Trump Takes Firm Stand, Exits Paris Agreement Again

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From the Daily Caller News Foundation

By Mariane Angela

President Donald Trump issued an executive order Monday to remove the United States from the Paris Agreement.

The United States joins Iran, Libya, and Yemen as countries not part of the Paris Agreement, which seeks to limit global warming, the New York Times reported. Trump had previously pulled out of the agreement during his first term, only to see his successor, former president Joe Biden, re-enter it in 2021 after taking office.

This decision aims to increase fossil fuel production and reduce investment in clean energy technologies like electric vehicles and wind turbines, the outlet stated. Additionally, Trump notified the United Nations, which manages the Paris Agreement, of the U.S.’s withdrawal with a signed letter, setting the official exit to occur one year after its submission.

Trump has said in the past that the U.S. involvement in the Paris agreement harms America’s economic competitiveness and would not make a significant impact on the climate. He also said previously that the agreement was poorly negotiated and did not put American workers first.

The Biden administration implemented new emissions goals as part of its efforts to solidify its climate strategy. The Trump administration plans to deregulate the energy sector and roll back funding from Biden’s key climate initiatives. Since Nov. 5, members of Biden administration have distributed $1.6 billion in “environmental justice” grants, secured significant loans for green energy firms, empowered  California regulators to influence the national auto market, and published a detailed analysis on the effects of liquefied natural gas exports, potentially hindering Trump’s efforts to expand them.

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