The United Mine Workers of America has donated nearly 84 percent of its money to Democratic candidates and committees in national races, according to a Reuters analysis of campaign finance data. That is a roughly 20-point jump from 2016, when Trump courted coal miners with promises of an industry comeback.
U.S. power firm Vistra Energy Corp said on Friday that it would shut two coal-fired plants for economic reasons, as closures in the industry continue apace despite the environment regulator saying this week he wanted to end the “war on coal.”
At an event in Kentucky, EPA Director Scott Pruitt said that the Trump administration is withdrawing America from Obama’s clean power plan.
Executives at the biggest coal companies increased their compensation and terminated workers while their companies spiraled into bankruptcy.
The Obama administration’s new EPA guidelines to cut carbon emissions from existing power plants should be applauded and the reaction from Republicans and some Democrats is more cynical politics as usual.