West Virginia Republicans slam Illinois Dem Casten for calling their state 'irrelevant part' of US economy
The move irked Casten's colleagues from West Virginia
West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey urges Republicans to be on the lookout for Democrats trying to slip President Biden's climate change agenda into infrastructure negotiations.
West Virginia Republicans are speaking out after an Illinois Democrat said their entire state is "an irrelevant part" of the national economy.
Rep. Sean Casten, D-Ill., took the jab against the Mountain State in a comment to Politico on Monday while pushing the progressive Democrats’ Clean Electricity Performance Program (CEPP).
Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., sent progressives scrambling to rework the climate agenda in the $3.5 trillion spending bill after he told the White House over the weekend that he would not support the program, spurring ire from progressives like Casten.
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"If you came and said to me, 'We will pass the CEPP as written but we will exempt West Virginia from it,’ I would take that deal," Casten told Politico. "Do I think that's possible? I mean, probably not, but that would be acceptable, right?"
"Because West Virginia is an irrelevant part of our economy," he continued.
Casten claimed in a lengthy Twitter thread on Sunday that nixing the CEPP from the multitrillion-dollar proposal would be the country deciding "that climate change isn't a problem" and that the proposal is the "most impactful part of the Build Back Better Act from a climate perspective."
Rep. Carol Miller, R-W.Va., torched Casten’s comment as "the latest example of how out of touch Washington Democrats are with hardworking families in West Virginia and across the country."
"This isn’t just about West Virginia, this is about every community that’s being left behind and forced to pay the bill for radical socialist policies," Miller told FOX Business in a Monday email statement.
Rep. Alex Mooney, R-W.Va., urged Manchin to keep up what he is doing on the legislative front.
"West Virginia is home to hardworking, God fearing Americans," Mooney told FOX Business in an email statement. "For generations West Virginia coal has powered this nation."
"I urge Sen. Manchin to continue to stand up for a commonsense, all-of-the-above energy approach," he continued.
West Virginia Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, a Republican, blasted Casten for the shot in a Monday tweet, warning the plan "would devastate West Virginia’s economy – and in turn destroy communities and families."
"But according to [Casten], that’s okay because ‘West Virginia is an irrelevant part of our economy,’" she wrote.
The CEPP would pay out $150 billion to energy companies to ramp up their increase of renewable sources while fining companies that do not.
Manchin has previously signaled his opposition to the measure, pointing out in interviews that the energy market is already moving toward cleaner energies without the government supplements.
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Casten’s office did not respond to Fox News’ question on if he stood by his statement about West Virginia.