Green New Deal Has 2020 Dems On Board, But Party Leaders Tread Lightly
While Democratic 2020 candidates have rushed to sign on to the Green New Deal, party leaders are extending a more cautious level of support to the landmark carbon-slashing infrastructure plan.
The six-page proposal that freshman Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) formally unveiled Thursday outlines plans to cut global greenhouse gas emissions 40 to 60 percent from 2010 levels by 2030 and to reduce human-caused greenhouse gases to net zero by 2050.
In the lead-up to the unveiling, after months of calling for lawmakers to get on board, their plan received enthusiastic support from major candidates hoping to take down President Donald Trump in 2020. Sens. Cory Booker (D-N.Y.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) have made strong statements endorsing the Green New Deal.
Meanwhile, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), has had a more tempered response, emphasizing that there will be other resolutions on the table to consider.
“It will be one of several or maybe many suggestions that we receive,” she told Politico in an interview Wednesday. “The green dream, or whatever they call it, nobody knows what it is, but they’re for it, right?” she continued, which may have been a swipe more at 2020 candidates looking to score points than at the resolution itself.
