Power Move

Clinton would veto any attempt to overturn the Clean Power Plan, says her campaign chair.

In an interview with Grist on Wednesday, John Podesta said Hillary Clinton would vigorously defend President Obama’s rules to cut carbon emissions from U.S. power plants even if it means shutting down the government and getting into a test of wills with a Republican-controlled Congress.

“I have no doubt that she would take any action, up to and including a veto, to protect the Clean Power Plan,” Podesta said.

President Obama has already vetoed attempts by Congress to repeal what many consider his signature environmental achievement.

Since being enacted by the Environmental Protection Agency last year, the regulations have been under constant assault from conservatives and fossil-fuel interests. The plan is currently being challenged in federal court, and although it looks likely to survive, it’s sure to remain a political lightning rod. (Both Donald Trump and the Republican Party platform pledge to repeal it.)

Clinton has frequently said that she’s committed to seeing the plan through to implementation. “She has said that she will use all her authority to protect the significant emissions reductions that will come from the Clean Power Plan,” Podesta said.