LaMalfa in January. Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images
The Congressional Western Caucus' new chair wants tweaks to the Endangered Species Act, Clean Water Act and Clean Air Act as a way to boost energy production and prevent damaging wildfires.
Why it matters: Rep. Doug LaMalfa is leading an influential bloc of 91 House Republicans as budget reconciliation talks heat up.
- With Westerners leading Interior, DOE and the Senate energy committee, the region is going to draw more attention.
Driving the news: "Energy has always been a big cornerstone for the Western Caucus, but I think [President Trump's election] does magnify the role this year," LaMalfa told Axios in an interview at his office.
- Wyoming's Cynthia Lummis, who chairs the Senate Western Caucus, also told Axios that "energy will be the big focus" for her group of 29 GOP senators.
The big picture: Much of the Congressional Western Caucus will be in lockstep with Trump's energy-dominance message: advocating for LNG exports, expanded oil and gas leasing, mineral mining, nuclear power, and refilling the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, LaMalfa said.
- LaMalfa even mentioned the Keystone XL pipeline, a controversial oil project that Trump permitted, President Biden rejected, and the developer scrapped in 2021.
- Developer South Bow is still exploring ways to use existing infrastructure to boost Canadian crude oil supplies to meet growing U.S. demand, a company spokesperson told Daniel.
- Any Trump tariffs on Canadian crude oil exports could complicate that endeavor.
State of play: LaMalfa said leasing for energy production or mineral mining and thinning forests all "have the possibilities of having a pretty good stream of income" to fit within reconciliation rules.
- Lummis also said a permitting overhaul, which died last session in the final hours, is a Trump priority that will take shape in the coming weeks on either a broad basis or by industry sector.
Between the lines: LaMalfa — a fourth-generation rice farmer whose Northern California district has been hit with deadly wildfires — wants more flexibility in environmental laws to enable forest thinning and responsible farming practices.
- The goal should be to identify how many trees per acre can remain healthy with the typical amount of rainfall and melting snowpack, he said.
- "It's not about clear-cutting everything," he said. "When (Natural Resources Ranking Member Jared) Huffman or somebody is yelling in committee [that] I want to get rid of all environmental protections and let Big Oil or Big Somebody just go at it — that's not what we're doing."
