LeMieux Says New Yorker Story Is ‘Wrong’ on His Support for Cap-and-Trade

Sen. George LeMieux (R-Fla.) decried as “wrong” a New Yorker story that says the senator would have supported a cap-and-trade bill, but didn’t want to complicate Florida Gov. Charlie Crist’s primary campaign.

Our sister publication The Florida Independent notes that LeMieux pushed back against the New Yorker story on Twitter today:

NewYorker piece is wrong. Care about energy indep, but never favored cap & tax– would cost Florida familes 30% ^ in energy costs.

LeMieux’s support for the cap-and-trade bill that was crafted by Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.), Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) could have been the extra push the bill needed to move forward. But it’s ultimately unclear how much LeMieux’s support would have helped, given that Graham himself pulled his support for the bill after months of behind-the-scenes negotiations. At the same time, the New Yorker story also highlights a number of instances where the White House and the senators were not on the same page in terms of their climate strategy.