White House dubs Dem a scam victim after he fumes Rubio wouldn’t fund climate trip
In a striking display of political discord, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) recently expressed his frustration over the Trump administration’s refusal to support his attendance at the COP30 climate change conference in Belém, Brazil. The White House quickly dismissed his complaints, with spokeswoman Taylor Rogers labeling him a victim of the “Green New Scam.” This incident highlights the stark contrast between the current administration’s approach to climate change and that of former President Joe Biden, who dispatched a significant U.S. delegation to the previous COP29 conference in Baku, Azerbaijan. Whitehouse’s predicament underscores a broader narrative regarding the United States’ role in global climate discussions, particularly as he stood at a press conference displaying his COP30 badge, which identified him not as a representative of the U.S. but as a member of the Global Legislators Organization for a Balanced Environment (GLOBE).
Whitehouse’s criticism extended beyond the lack of support from Secretary Marco Rubio’s State Department; he emphasized the implications of the U.S. absence from such critical discussions. He lamented that for the first time, he was not afforded the customary support for congressional delegations (CODELs), which typically includes credentialing and facilitation by the State Department. During his remarks, he pointedly accused President Trump of prioritizing the interests of the fossil fuel industry over effective representation of the U.S. government in climate matters. Whitehouse advocated for carbon pricing as a necessary measure for achieving climate goals, asserting that without it, efforts to combat climate change would falter. His comments resonated with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), who echoed concerns about the U.S. ceding leadership on climate issues to rival nations, particularly China.
Critics of Whitehouse, such as Daniel Turner, founder of Power The Future, countered his narrative, arguing that his focus on the conference was misplaced, especially during a time when the nation faced significant challenges, including a government shutdown. Turner accused Whitehouse of being out of touch with American workers and families, framing his attendance at a climate conference as a “tropical vacation.” This clash of perspectives reflects the ongoing debate over climate policy in the U.S., where divisions remain deep and contentious. Whitehouse, however, remains steadfast in his commitment to advocating for climate action, asserting that the Trump administration’s reluctance to engage in global discussions is detrimental to American interests and the future of climate safety. As he prepares to address attendees at COP30, Whitehouse aims to rally support for critical initiatives like Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), emphasizing that the path to climate safety is fraught with challenges that require unwavering commitment and action.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Qa39FfcK-k
The White House dubbed Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse a scam victim after he publicly complained the
Trump administration
would not fund or support his junket to the COP30 climate change conference in Belém, Brazil this week.
The Trump administration largely ignored the confab of global climate change leaders; a stark contrast to former President
Joe Biden
sending Clinton confidant John Podesta to lead a substantial U.S. delegation to COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan in 2024.
“Sadly,
Senator Whitehouse
has fallen victim to the biggest scam of the century: the Green New Scam,” White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said of Whitehouse, D-R.I.
“The senator can foolishly spend time and money attending this radical ‘climate’ conference, but the Trump administration refuses to waste taxpayer dollars.”
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Whitehouse spoke at a press conference on the House side of the Capitol Thursday with the blessing of
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries
, D-N.Y.
Whitehouse held up his COP30 badge and lamented that it did not label him a representative of the “United States of America” but instead “Global Legislators Organization for a Balanced Environment: GLOBE.”
That group was co-founded by then-Sen. Al Gore, D-Tenn., and the late Sen. John Heinz III, R-Pa. in the 1990s, and Whitehouse said that without support from Secretary Marco Rubio’s
State Department
, he relied on a House of Representatives “energy and environment coalition” to facilitate his travel.
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Whitehouse said the confab — to which California Gov.
Gavin Newsom
also traveled – showed a “failure of the United States to be present.”
“For the first time in history that I’m aware of, the State Department refused to support or facilitate my travel or my credentialing. My credentials don’t say United States of America,” he said, adding that it is typically State Department or executive branch protocol to support “CODELs” or congressional delegations.
“[T]he State Department refused to support this — that’s how bad the Trump administration has become.”
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Whitehouse said President
Donald Trump
is ignoring COP30 because he does not effectively represent the U.S. government on climate matters.
“He represents the fossil fuel industry, and specifically his big billionaire fossil fuel donors,” Whitehouse said, before pivoting to his contention at the conference that ”
carbon pricing
” – which critics call “carbon taxes” — is crucial.
“The good things that have come out of COP[30] so far mean that the plane crashes higher up the mountain. But if you want to get the plane over the mountaintop safely, you’ve got to have carbon pricing.”
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The Ocean State Democrat said he warned European COP30 attendees to hold firm if Trump attacks their climate commitments.
Jeffries later echoed Whitehouse, saying Trump is showing an unwillingness to address “issues of importance to the American people,” including climate change and affordability.
“The Trump administration and the United States government chose not to be involved and engaged at the most recent conference, essentially ceding leadership on this issue in the world to our rival: the Chinese Communist Party — while leaving America and Americans behind,” Jeffries said.
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Meanwhile, Daniel Turner, founder of Power The Future, a
Virginia group
that focuses on energy policy advocacy geared toward industry effects on workers and rural communities, said Whitehouse was out of line to make such an issue of the matter.
“It was bad enough that while the nation was reeling from the Democrats’ government shutdown, Senator Whitehouse took a tropical vacation and praised the communist Chinese,” Turner said.
Turner appeared to reference a Fox Business segment in which Whitehouse filmed himself at COP30 lamenting his lonely official presence, and saying how large the Chinese official “pavilion” was.
“I will never kiss the boots of the Communist Chinese that use slave and child labor to build crappy wind and solar which drives up the price of American electricity,” Turner said, adding that it showed how “out of touch ‘blue-blood, Whites-Only-Country-Club Whitehouse’ is.”
In 2021, Whitehouse
refused to apologize
for his family’s membership in a
Newport, R.I.
, club that was accused of,
but denied, retaining
a discriminatory membership policy.
“I think the people who are running the place are still working on that, and I’m sorry it hasn’t happened yet,” Whitehouse said at the time.
Whitehouse further defended his presence at COP30 in a statement this month, saying that Republican “corruption” is deliberately raising costs on American families to the benefit of donors from the fossil fuel industry.
“Amidst sinking approvals and a shellacking in the most recent elections, it’s no surprise the Trump administration is unwilling to defend the fossil fuel industry’s unpopular and corrupt climate denial lies on the global stage,” Whitehouse said.
“In Belém, I hope to rally our allies to stay steady on climate action, including CBAM, in the face of attacks from the fossil fuel villains running the Trump administration. There is no pathway to climate safety without CBAM, and we must protect that pathway at all costs.”
The State Department did not respond to a request for comment by press time.
