Senate Energy Committee Chairman Joe Manchin III is putting the kibosh on one of President Biden’s top Department of Energy nominees over the administration’s proposed efficiency standards for new gas stoves.
Mr. Manchin, the conservative West Virginia Democrat who is feuding with the White House over a litany of the president’s clean energy policies, said Wednesday he is “not comfortable moving forward” with Jeff Marootian’s nomination to be assistant secretary for DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
Mr. Manchin pulled a scheduled vote to advance his nomination to the full Senate set for Wednesday.
“While I supported Mr. Marootian’s nomination in December, since then the office he’s been nominated to lead has proposed stove efficiency rules that I’ve raised concerns about,” Mr. Manchin said. “While I appreciate that these rules would only apply to new stoves, my view is that it’s part of a broader, administration-wide effort to eliminate fossil fuels.”
The revelation is the latest blow that the Energy Committee chairman has dealt to Mr. Biden’s climate change agenda amid tough reelection prospects next year in a deep red state, should Mr. Manchin choose to seek a third term.
DOE did not respond to a request for comment.
Mr. Marootian, currently an adviser to DOE Secretary Jennifer Granholm, was renominated this year by Mr. Biden after his appointment expired in the last Congress without confirmation. But since Mr. Marootian was first nominated last year, DOE has moved to enact efficiency standards for new gas stoves that would render at least half of current models on the market out of compliance.
The department’s proposed rules have ignited a firestorm of criticism from Republicans and Mr. Manchin, who accuse the administration of attempting to ban the popular appliance used by roughly 40% of U.S. households amid health and environmental concerns.
Mr. Manchin vowed last week to oppose any of Mr. Biden‘s EPA nominees over separate proposed rules by that agency aimed at slashing emissions from oil and natural gas power plants that he characterized as the administration’s latest effort “to kill the fossil industry.”
Ms. Granholm defended the proposed stove rules before a House committee last week, saying she was simply following the law that periodically requires a reexamination of appliance regulations.
“The Department of Energy is not banning any gas stoves, we are doing our duty to make sure that appliances are more energy efficient as we are required to do under the Energy Policy Conservation Act of 1975,” Ms. Granholm told lawmakers. “Nobody’s taking my gas stove, nobody will take your gas stove. But in the future, gas stoves that are high-end — which is all that we looked at — can be more efficient.”
• Ramsey Touchberry can be reached at rtouchberry@washingtontimes.com.
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