Permitting Fix’s Path at Risk as Democrat Rips Trump Moves (1)

Republicans shouldn’t expect bipartisan help to enact federal permitting changes unless they rein in the Trump administration’s moves freezing funding and limiting congressional authority, a top Senate Democrat warned colleagues Wednesday.

“Until the administration shows it will honor its oath to faithfully and impartially execute the laws, we can have zero confidence that any legislative compromise on permitting reform will be executed lawfully,” Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (R.I.), the ranking member of the Environment and Public Works Committee, said during a hearing with industry on improving federal permitting.

“It falls to my Republican friends to bring this lawless unconstitutional madness to ...