Searching for smart, safe news you can TRUST?
Support safe, smart, REAL journalism. Sign up for our Axios AM & PM newsletters and get smarter, faster.
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Denver news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Denver
Des Moines news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Des Moines
Minneapolis-St. Paul news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Twin Cities
Tampa Bay news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Tampa Bay
Charlotte news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Charlotte
Mitch McConnell. Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images
Senate Democrats hope to put Republicans on the record on whether they support the scientific consensus on human-caused climate change.
Where it stands: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is bringing up the Green New Deal resolution for a vote soon — a move that shows GOP confidence that it puts Democrats in a political bind.
What's next: Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Thursday that Democrats will push an amendment on acknowledgement of human-driven global warming.
"If Leader McConnell blocks amendments, we’ll know where he and his party stand: against science, against fact, ostriches with their heads buried in the sand as the tide comes in," Schumer said.
But, but, but: Thursday brought more evidence that Democrats are not all on the same page when it comes to the GND resolution, which was authored by 2 Democrats, Sen. Ed Markey and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
- It's the sweeping but non-binding template that calls for massive federal investments in emissions-cutting alongside goals like job guarantees.
- Even the bravado of Schumer's speech had a tacit admission (emphasis added): "Bring it on. You think it might embarrass Democrats to vote on a non-binding resolution that maybe some of us support but not others? Trust me, we’ll be fine."
What they're saying: Sen. Debbie Stabenow, a Michigan Democrat, declined to say how she would vote on the resolution when speaking at an Axios News Shapers event on Thursday.
- "I support the goals as it relates to climate change," she said, but added that "some of the wording is of concern ... because it leaves things wide open and allows folks that are opposing it to … mischaracterize it."
Go deeper:
- Watch Stabenow's remarks (CSPAN)
- Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's Green New Deal gets first fight in Senate