House Energy and Commerce Democrats weren’t thrilled about the suggestion of a new select House committee on climate change, worried that its power would creep into their expansive jurisdiction. Committee leaders flexed what internal muscle they had to make sure that the committee, established at the behest of progressives behind the “Green New Deal,” was defanged, withholding subpoena power and the authority to approve new legislation.

Rep. Bobby Rush, the No. 2 Democrat on the Energy and Commerce Committee, told The Intercept that he was pleased to see the end of a “smash and grab” that’s pushed the committee to cede “too much of our jurisdiction over the years.”

“The grab is over, as far as I’m concerned, in terms of Energy and Commerce, this smash and grab that’s been going on for too long in this Congress,” he told The Intercept in an interview.

“We’re gonna return to regular order as we have exercised it in the past, and we stand on it now. You know, we’re not ceding any of the Energy and Commerce jurisdiction. I’m not in favor of not one measure, not one iota of Energy and Commerce’s jurisdiction to be ceded to other committees.”

Asked what he planned to do with that power, Rush said, “We’re gonna do what we’ve always done. Legislate, deliberate, legislate, move bills to the floor. And we’re going to continue to work hard on behalf of the American people.”

But while Chair Frank Pallone said he understands and shares concerns “about the need for transformational action” laid out in the Green New Deal, he added in a statement to The Intercept that he wants to prioritize “actions we can take this year that will make a difference now.”

That doesn’t square with the Green New Deal’s 10-year plan to get to 100 percent renewable energy, which foresees drafting and organizing around transformative legislation in the next two years, and then enacting it in the beginning of a new Democratic administration. To pull that off, the advocates of the select committee argued that none of its members should take money from fossil fuel companies.

Stephen Hanlon, communications director for the Sunrise Movement, which led the occupation in the office of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, told The Intercept that walking and chewing gum was preferable. “With Trump in the White House, we’re focusing on building the public and political support to elect a Congress and president in 2020 that can make the Green New Deal law in 2021,” Hanlon said. “We certainly should take what action we can in the interim, but that is no substitute for putting forward a plan in line with the ambition the latest science says is necessary.”

Pallone argued that the fossil fuel industry dollars flowing through the committee won’t have any impact on the agenda.

The committee’s first hearing will assess the environmental and economic impacts of climate change, Pallone said, and it will be “the first of many hearings on the subject.” He pointed out the “stark difference from past Republican House majorities, which refused to hold hearings on climate change and denied that it even existed.” Asked if oil and gas executives would be called before the committee, a spokesperson told The Intercept that no decisions have been made about specific hearings or who would testify.

Pallone plans to prioritize investing in green energy infrastructure, energy efficiency, and other programs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and reversing a long list of environmental rollbacks under the Trump administration, he said, which included lifting restrictions on coal plant greenhouse gas emissions and opening parts of the Arctic to oil and gas drilling.

But when asked whether the committee would reconsider how it addresses contributions to members from the fossil fuel industry, Pallone — who took $30,900 in oil and gas money last election cycle — noted his longstanding support of public campaign finance and said he believes that lawmakers should be judged instead by their record and agenda.

Asked if he thought the pledge by incoming Reps. Nanette Barragán and Darren Soto to refuse fossil fuel money would spread to other members of the committee, Rush told The Intercept that he wasn’t sure. “And that’s an individual decision among members of the committee. I would not dare try to dictate their fundraising strategies or techniques,” he said. Barragán took $6,000 in oil and gas PAC money last election cycle. Neither Barragán nor Soto responded to requests for comment.

Rep. Kurt Schrader, former chair of the conservative Blue Dog caucus, took the most money from the oil and gas industry last cycle at $77,500, with $75,500 coming from PACs and $2,000 from individuals. Next is incoming committee member Rep. Marc Veasey, who took a total of $63,050, including $40,500 from PACs and $22,550 from individuals. Rep. Tony Cárdenas took $31,005 from the industry, including $29,000 from PACs and $2,005 from individuals. Rep. Scott Peters took $31,703, including $25,000 from PACs and $6,703 from individuals. Rep. Ben Ray Luján took $23,000 from PACs and $2,150 from individuals. Rep. Gene Green took $24,000 from the industry, including $23,500 from PACs and $500 from individuals.

Additionally, Rep. Paul Tonko took $24,000 in PAC money. Rep. Mike Doyle took $18,000 from oil and gas PACs, and Rep. Peter Welch took $18,000. Rep. Doris Matsui took $17,000 in oil and gas PAC money, Rush took $13,000, and Rep. G. K. Butterfield took $11,500. Rep. Debbie Dingell took $11,000 from PACs and $1,500 from individuals. Rep. David Loebsack took $8,000 from PACs. Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester took $7,000 in oil and gas PAC money, and Rep. Donald McEachin took $5,500. Rep. Eliot Engel took $5,450, including $2,000 from PACs and $3,450 from individuals. Rep. Raul Ruiz took $3,000 from PACs and $1,623 from individuals. Rep. Robin Kelly took $3,000 from PACs. Rep. Jerry McNerney took $3,500 from PACs and $1,000 from individuals. Reps. Yvette Clarke and Diana DeGette took $1,000 from PACs. Reps. Anna Eshoo and John Sarbanes took $1,000 from one or more individuals in the industry.

Of 31 Democrats on the committee, those who signed the No Fossil Fuel Money Pledge, in addition to Barragán and Soto, are Reps. Joe Kennedy of Massachusetts and Jan Schakowsky of Illinois. Kennedy took $12,080 from individuals in the industry last cycle, and returned $1,000 in oil and gas PAC money.