Senate votes to overturn Biden water rule

The Senate on Wednesday voted 53-43 to approve a Republican resolution that would overturn the Biden administration’s “Waters of the United States” rule, which expands the definition of waterways that are subject to protections from the Environmental Protection Agency.

Sens. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.), Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.), Jon Tester (D-Mont.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) joined Republicans in backing the resolution, which Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) introduced under the Congressional Review Act.

Cortez Masto, who does not often buck the Biden administration, said in a statement that the rule could force Nevada’s farmers and ranchers “to jump through unnecessary red tape.” Biden is expected to veto the measure, which many other Democrats have said would undermine the nation’s water quality. Supporters appear to lack the two-thirds majority needed to override a veto.