U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito has expressed her approval of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposal to repeal the Biden administration’s Clean Power Plan 2.0. The plan, affecting coal and natural gas power plants, has been criticized for its potential economic impact on West Virginia and concerns about energy reliability.
Senator Capito stated, “Finally, under President Trump’s leadership, we are taking a necessary step towards ending the Clean Power Plan 2.0 once and for all, eliminating the threat this rule poses to our way of life in communities throughout America.” She emphasized her long-standing opposition to the regulation due to its anticipated negative effects on energy production and jobs.
Capito has a history of opposing such regulations. In March 2025, she supported efforts by the Trump EPA to deregulate rules perceived as harmful to American energy production. In June 2024, she led a formal challenge against the Clean Power Plan 2.0 using a Congressional Review Act joint resolution of disapproval.
Further actions included sending letters with U.S. Senator John Barrasso to EPA Administrator Michael Regan and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) expressing concerns about the plan’s implications for electric reliability.
In August 2023, Capito filed comments with other Republican senators urging the EPA to withdraw plans for closing coal and gas-fired power plants. Earlier that year, she introduced legislation aimed at preventing the implementation of the Clean Power Plan 2.0.
Senator Capito’s opposition extends back several years; in December 2021, she supported an amicus curiae brief in a Supreme Court case against similar regulations from President Obama’s administration.
