
The Capitol shrouded in wildfire smoke Wednesday. Photo: Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images
1. Gas stove grousing: The House couldn't agree to a rule Tuesday that would provide consideration for a bill targeting stove efficiency regulation.
- Conservatives who voted the rule down told reporters they were sending a message to Kevin McCarthy about their frustrations with the debt deal. Axios' Andrew Solender and Juliegrace Brufke have more.
- Today we'll be watching to see if they resurrect the gas stove issue.
đźšś 2. More on farm bill: Sens. Michael Bennet and Mike Crapo were out with a bipartisan water bill Wednesday that they hope to inject into farm bill talks.
- The Headwaters Protection Act would increase funding authorizations for the Water Source Protection Program and the Watershed Condition Framework.
- It's part of a larger push by Western lawmakers to tackle drought and river health in this year's farm bill.
🛢️ 3. Chevron speaks: We chatted with Chevron CEO Mike Wirth at the Axios office Tuesday.
- He said Congress took "modest but meaningful steps" on permitting in the debt ceiling deal, but like other industry players, he wants to see more.
- "There was nothing in there to address the use of the courts to frustrate permits, and so litigation reform is needed. There was nothing in there on class VI wells, which are the wells that are used to inject CO2 into the ground. ... Timelines on that are very long today," Wirth said.
- Read more from Axios' Ben Geman.
4. 📝 Electric letter: A large and bipartisan group of senators is raising concerns over the Department of Energy's proposed efficiency standards for electric distribution transformers.
5.⚡Confirmation bias: The Senate on Wednesday confirmed David Crane as undersecretary of Enery for infrastructure in a 56–43 vote.

