Proposed constitutional amendment to protect paid leave fund one step closer to ballot
The entire Maine Legislature is so far taking the recommendations of the Labor Committee to reject significant changes to the state's paid family and medical leave program.
On Monday, the Senate voted 20-14 to back a proposal (LD 894) to tweak the program, but rejected other bills by the same margin, including one to exempt agricultural employees from the program and another to suspend remittance for companies that plan to use private plans. That bill now advances to the House of Representatives.
Both chambers also followed the lead of the committee by backing a proposal for a constitutional amendment prohibiting the Legislature from using the program funds for any other purpose.
Though LD 1221 was passed under the hammer by the House and Senate, it will require a two-thirds vote from each chamber for the next round of enactment votes. If secured, it would then be sent to the voters to ultimately decide on the November 2025 ballot.
LD 894, which was also endorsed by the committee, proposes a series of amendments to the current law to create certain enforcement mechanisms and penalties, as well as clarify intermittent leave. Senate President Mattie Daughtry (D-Cumberland) introduced the bill on behalf of the Labor Department to make specific refinements to the policy that were noticed during the rulemaking process.
'This is a bill that does the quiet, but essential work of ensuring that Maine's paid family and medical leave program is implemented successfully,' said Sen. Mike Tipping (D-Penobscot) on the Senate floor.
Though it isn't expected to be available until May 2026, the paid family and medical leave program will allow eligible public and private sector workers to take up to 12 weeks of paid leave for reasons such as illness, to care for a loved one or the birth of a new child.
Tipping said LD 894 is the only bill that 'strengthens the program without destabilizing it.'
Sen. Dick Bradstreet (R-Kennebec) urged his colleagues to support a different version of the bill that he argued would help small businesses. While Sen. Cameron Reny (D-Lincoln) said while some of those suggestions are reasonable, they seem too substantial to make for a program that hasn't been fully implemented yet.
'Making major structural changes at this stage before a single benefit has been paid and without knowing what's working or not working, it's like you're trying to redesign a plane while we're on the runway,' Reny said.
Across the State House, lawmakers rejected bills to repeal the program (LD 406), make it voluntary (LD 1273) and make a series of other structural changes (LD 1333 and LD 1712).
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Los Angeles Times
20 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
Essayli upended U.S. attorney's office by pushing Trump agenda. Will he stay on top?
When Bill Essayli was appointed interim U.S. attorney for the Los Angeles region in April, many in the former state assemblyman's Riverside County district were afraid the ambitious Republican lightning rod would be willing to attack a whole range of California policies to please the MAGA base. They feared that, as the region's most powerful federal prosecutor, Essayli would bow to the Trump administration and ramp up assaults on queer people, immigrants, voting rights, environmental protections and anyone or anything else that displeased President Trump. Now, it's clear they were right to worry, said Jacob Daruvala, an LGBTQ+ advocate from the Inland Empire. 'Essayli is a very specific and terrible threat,' Daruvala said during a recent town hall for the 'Stop Essayli' campaign, which is working to block the top prosecutor's permanent appointment. 'He has already shown multiple times that he is willing to use the office in a partisan manner.' Nearly four months into Essayli's tenure at the top of one of the nation's busiest federal prosecutor's offices, it is perhaps complaints about his partisanship that hound him most. In the midst of a pitched culture war between the Trump administration and California — in which Essayli has participated in federal lawsuits challenging L.A.'s sanctuary policy, California's protections for transgender athletes and more — his partisanship has become a central note in conversations about his leadership style, grasp of the law and understanding of the traditional role of U.S. attorneys. Is he too loyal to Trump? Too bound up in the administration's battles? Too eager to please his bosses and too inexperienced to know that rushing cases for political points can lead to embarrassing losses in court and a crisis of confidence among his own line prosecutors? Essayli — who declined to be interviewed — was never nominated by Trump, but rather appointed by U.S. Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi. That has cast doubt about his future in the office, as Bondi's appointment is limited to 120 days by federal statute and will expire on Wednesday. Barring any formal nomination from Trump proceeding through to the Senate before then — which is unlikely — a panel of judges in the Central District of California can appoint a U.S. attorney. That could be Essayli, or someone else. However, the Trump administration has used unprecedented maneuvers to sidestep that process for two other federal prosecutors this month. A judicial panel declined to name interim U.S. Atty. John A. Sarcone III, or anyone else, as the U.S. attorney in upstate New York. So Bondi appointed Sarcone to a lesser position in the same office, then designated the responsibilities of the higher office back to him. Another judicial panel declined to permanently appoint New Jersey's interim federal prosecutor, Alina Habba — one of Trump's former personal lawyers who has no prosecutorial experience. Bondi decried the judges for going 'rogue,' fired the career prosecutor they chose instead and reinstated Habba. Trump then withdrew Habba's initial nomination and appointed her acting U.S. attorney, a position she can hold for another 210 days without Senate or judicial appointment. Essayli has suggested the administration may not go along with a judicial decision about his appointment either. When conservative pundit Glenn Beck asked him this week if his time was up soon, Essayli said, 'Potentially. We've got some tricks up our sleeves.' The uncertainty around Essayli's future in the office has contributed to a darkening cloud around his tenure there. That unease has been defined by mass departures of career prosecutors, decisions in high-profile cases being criticized as politically motivated and a wave of rushed filings against pro-immigration protesters that pleased Trump administration officials but have struggled to gain traction in court. The controversy has caused his supporters to rally around him, praising his performance and the zealous way in which he has championed the president's causes. Bondi told The Times this week that Essayli had her 'complete support.' His critics, meanwhile, have become increasingly vocal about his faults — and the dangerous path they see ahead were he to win a permanent posting. For months, Trump administration officials have had a loyal and loquacious ally in Essayli, who has doubled as a hype man for Trump's agenda and eagerly filed criminal charges and civil lawsuits to advance it. In late May, Assistant Atty. Gen. Harmeet Dhillon — a fellow conservative culture warrior who has worked alongside Essayli in California for years — repeatedly praised his efforts to increase federal detentions of undocumented immigrants in L.A. despite local sanctuary laws, calling him an 'absolute rock star.' Amid pro-immigrant protests in L.A., Essayli bragged during a June 10 Fox News interview about federal law enforcement arresting David Huerta, president of the Service Employees International Union California, for allegedly impeding federal officers. 'California is so lucky to have [Essayli] as the US Attorney in Los Angeles!' Dhillon posted to X. Two days later, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem held a news conference in L.A. about federal law enforcement and military troops being posted on city streets. She, too, praised Essayli — who stood nearby — for being 'aggressive' and ensuring 'that people who break the law and perpetuate violence will be brought to justice.' A week later, Bondi and Essayli announced they were suing the city of L.A. over its sanctuary policies. A week after that, Bondi, Dhillon and Essayli announced they were suing the California Department of Education and the California Interscholastic Federation over policies allowing transgender girls to compete in girls' sports. Essayli made his name in the state legislature as a fierce opponent of allowing transgender girls to compete against other female athletes in high school sports. He also was the author of a controversial bill that would require schools to out children presenting in gender-nonconforming ways at school to their parents. Instead, state Democrats passed a bill barring school districts from requiring staff to report such information. LGBTQ+ activists and parents of transgender teenagers have told The Times they fear Essayli is trying to lie low for now but will quickly become the Trump administration's go-to prosecutor for its anti-LGBTQ+ agenda. Federal law enforcement sources said they may be right. During meetings with prosecutors early in his tenure, Essayli floated the idea of criminally charging doctors and hospitals for providing gender-affirming care to transgender youths, according to two federal law enforcement sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal. A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's office did not reply to a question about the meetings. Meghan Blanco, a defense attorney and former federal prosecutor in L.A., said Essayli's partisanship has gone far beyond the left and rightward swings of U.S. attorneys in the past. 'You're seeing hyper politicized prosecutions, where many times the prosecutions are coupled with these extrajudicial statements by the U.S. attorney himself on news programs or on his X account, where it is very clear the purpose of that is not to promote public safety,' she said. 'The purpose is to rile up Trump's base and to prove to the people around him that he is a true believer who is backing whatever agenda is before him, whether or not that comports with his ethical obligations as a prosecutor.' In his interview with Beck, Essayli said he is working to get things 'reoriented and reprioritized' after years of liberal leadership in the federal courts, in the prosecutor's office and in partner law enforcement agencies in L.A. 'I'm up against very hostile judges, a bench here in Southern California that's extremely left,' he said. 'I have an office I inherited with left-leaning attorneys. And, you know, I inherited an FBI office that frankly needs culture change.' An FBI spokesperson declined to comment. One controversy sparked by Essayli involves Trevor Kirk, a Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputy convicted by a jury in February of using excessive force when he assaulted and pepper-sprayed a woman outside a supermarket. After Essayli was appointed, three law enforcement sources said he became focused on undoing the felony conviction. He requested that the Riverside County district attorney's office look it over. He also tried to delay Kirk's sentencing. Legal experts thought it an odd request, especially since Essayli could have asked the L.A. County district attorney's office — which has experience reviewing sheriff's department conduct and is run by a former federal prosecutor in Nathan Hochman — to provide a second opinion. When a judge denied that request, Essayli's office offered Kirk a misdemeanor plea deal, despite the jury having already convicted him of a felony. It was the same week Trump issued an executive order vowing to 'unleash' American law enforcement. Several federal prosecutors who had worked on the case resigned. U.S. District Judge Stephen V. Wilson, a Ronald Reagan appointee, sharply questioned the Assistant U.S. Atty. Robert J. Keenan, the only prosecutor left on the case, for hours, asking whether prosecutors had a 'serious and significant doubt' as to Kirk's guilt. Ultimately, Wilson rejected the plea agreement — which recommended that Kirk be sentenced to probation — but granted the prosecution's motion to lessen the charges against him and sentenced Kirk to four months in prison. The Andrew Wiederhorn case has also drawn scrutiny. Wiederhorn, the former chief executive of the company that owns fast-food chains Fatburger and Johnny Rockets, is under federal indictment on gun and fraud charges. Days before Essayli's appointment, Adam Schleifer, the assistant U.S. attorney handling the criminal cases against Wiederhorn, was fired at the behest of the White House. Schleifer alleged in appealing the decision that his firing was motivated in part by his prosecution of Wiederhorn, a Trump donor who has maintained his innocence. According to three sources familiar with the matter, Essayli had a meeting with Wiederhorn's defense team shortly after he was appointed. The meeting included former U.S. Atty. Nicola T. Hanna, who the sources said was in charge of the office when the investigation into Wiederhorn began and is now on Wiederhorn's defense team. According to those sources, Essayli suggested shortly after the meeting ended that the cases against Wiederhorn could be dismissed if Essayli gets permanently appointed. The trial dates in both cases have been pushed out to next year. Neither Essayli nor Wiederhorn's defense team responded to a request for comment. Essayli's tenure has been demoralizing and disruptive to many career prosecutors. His belligerent management style and clear partisanship are helping drive out veteran lawyers, according to interviews with several current and former prosecutors who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution. Essayli has stressed making examples out of those protesting Trump's immigration raids, two prosecutors said, insisting on filing charges even in cases in which the evidence is unlikely to secure a conviction. The office has filed roughly 40 felony cases against protesters and people who have allegedly interfered with ICE operations, but only seven have netted indictments, court records show. Some have been dismissed or reduced to misdemeanors. Law enforcement sources said several were rejected by grand juries, which is rare. Some in Essayli's office have taken to calling him 'No Bill' Essayli, a reference to the legal term for a grand jury refusing to return a criminal charge — or a 'bill' — in response to a prosecutor's request, according to three federal law enforcement sources who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal. One prosecutor said work under Essayli has been filled with threats of termination and screaming matches over cases, leading to 'very low' morale. 'When he's in the office, I feel like I usually find out about it because he's yelling at someone,' the prosecutor said. Essayli's office declined to provide The Times with the number of career prosecutors who have left the office recently. According to two law enforcement sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution, Essayli said at a recent meeting that roughly 80 prosecutors out of fewer than 300 have left since early January. 'It feels like we have a going away party pretty much every week,' one prosecutor said. 'Most people that I'm familiar with are looking for other jobs.' Some see Essayli's influence spreading to the national level if he is appointed to the role permanently — and they welcome it. Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco is a Republican who is running for governor and knows Essayli well. He said he has been in law enforcement for more than 30 years and has never had a more cooperative partner in the local U.S. attorney's office than Essayli. 'We finally have someone that's willing to prosecute people that break the law,' Bianco said. 'Of course I want him confirmed.' That path, however, is far from certain. It's unclear whether the district's judges approve of Essayli or would appoint him, as some have expressed frustration in court with the office's tactics under his leadership. Essayli clearly has his doubts, alleging to Beck that liberal district judges in the country 'have basically signaled en masse they're not going to confirm any Trump U.S. attorneys.' A formal nomination from Trump likely wouldn't put Essayli in any better position. Under traditional Senate rules, California's two senators could scuttle any formal Trump nomination for U.S. attorney in the region by withholding what is known as their 'blue slip,' or acknowledgment of support for a nominee. Essayli told Beck there was 'no world in which' Sens. Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff agreed to his nomination. Both Padilla and Schiff in interviews with The Times declined to say whether they would oppose Essayli's appointment given that he has not been formally nominated. But both expressed strong concerns about how he has conducted himself to date. Schiff, who once worked as a prosecutor in the same office, said the U.S. attorneys he worked for under both Republican and Democratic administrations appropriately 'avoided getting involved in incendiary cultural wars or engaging in overt political activity or commentary.' Schiff said Essayli 'is a dramatic departure from that,' leaving him with 'profound concerns.' During a second 'Stop Essayli' town hall on Tuesday, Abi Jones, a 17-year-old transgender athlete from Riverside County, voiced her own fears. In a testimonial video, she said running track and cross-country in high school had taught her about resilience and helped her find a community. But she said that all changed after Essayli 'openly supported' a lawsuit challenging her participation in school sports. Abi accused Essayli of helping to launch a 'harassment campaign' against her and other transgender athletes, and of using it 'for social media content and cheap political points.' 'We need leaders who protect and support all youth,' she said, 'not target and isolate us.' When Daruvala first launched the 'Stop Essayli' effort, he said he felt as though he were 'shouting to the void' about the dangers Essayli posed, where 'only really the LGBTQ community from the Inland Empire who already knew him seemed to understand.' But that has changed with each new partisan move Essayli has made, especially his decision to charge Huerta, the SEIU president, Daruvala said. 'People woke up right away, like, 'Oh, this is not just a Trump puppet,'' Daruvala said. ''He is Trump's enforcer.''
NBC News
2 hours ago
- NBC News
Some Republicans push to undo gambling tax hike they passed in Trump's megabill
WASHINGTON — Some top Republicans are regretting that they inserted a tax hike on gamblers into President Donald Trump's megabill, with several lawmakers who supported the legislation now calling for rolling back that policy. Rep. Jason Smith, R-Mo., the chair of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, told NBC News that the provision was a 'mistake' and needs to be undone. 'It was definitely not something that we did in the House. I don't understand why the Senate decided to do something like that,' Smith said in a brief interview Wednesday. 'And so it is definitely a provision that — I'm interested in making sure that we fix the Senate's mistake.' The new law cuts the tax deduction on 'wagering losses' from 100% to 90% of losses starting in 2026, disrupting the current dynamic where bettors can offset losses with gains and pay taxes only on net earnings. The new policy could tax gamblers even in years where they break even or net-out losses. For instance, a bettor who wins $100,000 and loses $100,000 in the same year would be stuck with a taxable income of $10,000. 'It would be potentially catastrophic for the industry as it would disproportionately affect high volume gamblers,' said Jack Andrews, the professional sports bettor who goes by that alias. 'Those high volume players are the lifeblood of most casinos,' he added. 'If they realize they could lose, and still have taxable income to pay that they didn't make, they'll stop playing. Or find ways to play that don't generate a paper trail.' Andrews said the new law 'could result in players losing money gambling, but still owing taxes on 'income' they didn't make.' The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates the gambling tax change will raise $1.1 billion over a decade. At least a couple of senators who supported the megabill — which passed with only GOP votes — want to undo the gambling tax. Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Bill Hagerty of Tennessee have signed on to legislation to roll it back, alongside Nevada's two Democratic senators, Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen. The bill is called the Facilitating Useful Loss Limitations to Help Our Unique Service Economy Act, or the FULL HOUSE Act. 'It's unfair. It makes no sense,' Cruz, who plays poker in his spare time, said in an interview of the tax provision. 'The income tax is designed to tax actual income,' he said. 'For example, playing poker for profession — not allowing them to deduct their losses means they're paying taxes not on their actual income.' 'I think we should fix it,' he added. Cruz said most Republicans voted to pass the gambling tax change without knowing about it, a damning indictment of the legislative process for the bill. 'Nobody really takes responsibility for introducing it,' Cruz said. 'None of us knew about it. It's a very big, beautiful bill, and so there are lots of provisions there that at the end, things were moving very fast. I don't know of anyone who was aware of the provision at the time it passed.' The provision was introduced in the mid-June version of the bill, with Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, overseeing the tax portion as chair of the Senate Finance Committee. And he, too, is open to revisiting it. 'Senator Crapo is open to receiving feedback from affected stakeholders and learning more about industry reporting and compliance,' a Crapo spokesperson said. 'To comply with the rules of reconciliation, every provision from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act needed to be modified to create a budgetary effect. In order to retain the gambling loss provision, it was changed to 90 percent,' the spokesperson added. 'While the committee heard from gaming associations on other provisions after text was released on June 16th, there were no concerns raised with lowering the threshold.' The blowback from bettors has since grown since Trump signed the bill into law on July 4, and Democrats have added it to their list of grievances with the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. 'Republicans' hastily put-together bill is full of provisions that are completely counterproductive and harmful to Americans. The provision limiting the wagering loss deduction will have a negative impact on Nevada, and it's one of the many reasons I voted no,' Cortez Masto, the author of the FULL HOUSE Act. On July 10, she sought unanimous consent on the Senate floor to pass the legislation but was met with an objection from Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., which prevented speedy passage. Her office said she will 'continue to explore all options available to restore the 100% dedication for gambling losses and protect Nevada's gaming and hospitality industries.' If the tax change isn't undone, it will come as a shock to some bettors, as 'many of them wouldn't realize this until they do their 2026 taxes, which would be early 2027,' Andrews said. But reversing it won't be so easy. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., poured cold water on the proposals from some Republicans to roll back parts of the bill. Asked by NBC News on Tuesday whether measures offered by his colleagues to undo the Medicaid cuts and gambling tax were going to succeed, Thune said flatly, 'No.' 'There are members out there who are saying, we'd like to do this or that differently. That's always the case,' Thune said. 'This was a big piece of legislation that had a lot of moving parts. Not everybody got everything they wanted, but at the end of the day, it's historic in its breadth and the things that it addresses.' The White House didn't immediately return a message seeking comment on whether Trump is open to revisiting the provision. Other Republicans say they're unfamiliar with the industry blowback to the gamblers' tax change. 'I honestly, frankly, haven't had a chance to look at it. So I don't even know what they're talking about,' Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., the second ranking Republican on Ways and Means, said. On the other hand, Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, sounded surprised by how much attention the issue is getting. 'Why do so many people care about the gamblers tax?' he quipped. 'I'm kind of agnostic. I don't, frankly, understand why it's such a big deal. But happy to look at anything they propose.'
Politico
2 hours ago
- Politico
Congress can't decide how much more to cut on climate
The House left Washington this week for its August recess, setting the stage for fall showdowns with the Senate and White House on deeper cuts to climate and environment spending. If the sides can't work out their differences, or agree on how to kick the can past Oct. 1, a partial government shutdown could hit in a little more than nine weeks. Three distinct visions of the future are at play: — President Donald Trump's budget request in May asked lawmakers for massive reductions for programs that aim to fight climate change, and agencies including the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Park Service. — The Senate has put forth largely bipartisan proposals, eyeing a small cut to EPA and an increase for the Interior Department. In some cases, senators are pushing back at how Trump is handling government funding. — The House, on the other hand, is aiming to take a sledgehammer to those agencies and more, with double-digit percentage cuts that would have to advance with only Republican votes. Its cuts still wouldn't bite as deeply as what Trump proposed. A MOUNTAIN OF DIFFERENCES: Take the spending bill for the Energy Department and water development programs, which advanced through the House Appropriations Committee last week on a party-line vote. It would fund the agencies in its purview at $57.3 billion, or $766 million less than current levels. The Energy Department would get $48.8 billion, a cut of $1.4 billion. Its Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy is targeted for a 46 percent decrease, while the Office of Grid Deployment's funding would fall by more than half. Trump's budget request eyed even bigger cuts, seeking to reduce the Energy Department's budget by $4.7 billion, slash about 70 percent of the renewable energy office's funding and mostly eliminate money from the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law. Things are even messier on the Senate side. Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), who chairs the subcommittee overseeing the energy and water legislation, says he wants the bill to spend less than the $59.9 billion that Appropriations Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine) and ranking member Patty Murray (D-Wash.) had agreed to, creating an impasse that has blocked the legislation from moving forward, our Andres Picon reported. A COLLISION OVER EPA: House and Senate appropriators have also shown stark differences in how they're handling Interior and EPA — including which programs they want to cut. The House Appropriations Committee advanced its bill along party lines this week, including a proposed 23 percent cut for the EPA. The bill's total spending for the agencies it covers, $38 billion, is $9.2 billion higher than what Trump requested. But the Senate version, advanced the following day by a subcommittee chaired by Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), would cut EPA just 5 percent. The Senate bill also takes aim at the Trump administration and its priorities. It would cut EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin's office, provide no funding for EPA's planned closure of its research office, and require the administration to change the name of Alaska's Mount McKinley back to Denali, reversing Trump's January renaming. It's Friday — thank you for tuning in to POLITICO's Power Switch. I'm your host, Timothy Cama. Power Switch is brought to you by the journalists behind E&E News and POLITICO Energy. Send your tips, comments, questions to tcama@ Today in POLITICO Energy's podcast: Zack Colman breaks down how the Trump administration is planning to back off from regulating greenhouse gas emissions. Power Centers Extreme storms producing even more rain than some scientists expected Heavy rainfall events like the one that created deadly flooding in the Texas Hill Country are a symptom of climate change, Chelsea Harvey writes. 'The biggest, baddest, rarest extreme precipitation events are precisely those which are going to increase the most in a warming climate,' Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at the California Institute for Water Resources, said not long after the Texas floods. This is because a warmer atmosphere can hold more water. But scientists say recent flash floods have produced more rainfall than their equations hold. Trade deals take gas along for the ride Some nations are currying favor with the Trump administration ahead of an Aug. 1 deadline for tariffs by buying liquefied natural gas from the U.S., Brian Dabbs and Carlos Anchondo write. The president announced new trade deals this week with Indonesia and Japan, the latter of which he said will include a 'major expansion of U.S. energy exports.' 'LNG is playing a significant role in the bilateral trade talks,' said Mark Menezes, president of the U.S. Energy Association trade group and a former Department of Energy official in Trump's first term. China, EU agree and disagree on climate European Union leaders agreed to a joint effort with China to fight climate change this week after leaving Beijing without a wider trade deal, Karl Mathiesen, Koen Verhelst and Jordyn Dahl write. The friction over trade stems from China's dominance in clean technology and its associated supply chains. European leaders see China's exports as a threat to their own manufacturing. Chinese President Xi Jinping called on EU leaders to see that 'convergent interests are not a threat,' in remarks reported by the state-run Xinhua News Agency. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called the agreement a 'big step forward … our cooperation can set a global benchmark.' In Other News Pumped up: Massachusetts regulators are considering cutting electricity rates in the winter for households that use heat pumps. Dried up: Louisiana canceled a $3 billion coastal restoration project meant to protect the state from rising seas and extreme weather. Subscriber Zone A showcase of some of our best subscriber content. The CEO of Exelon and chair of the Edison Electric Institute says he's ready to meet the Trump administration's goals but calls for an 'all of the above' energy approach. The Securities and Exchange Commission wants an appeals court to continue hearing a challenge to a Biden-era climate rule even though it is not defending it in court. That's it for today, folks. Thanks for reading, and have a great weekend!
