Climate change drama grips the White House

Desdemona Despair

By Jonathan Easley and Jordan Fabian
31 May 2017

(The Hill) – A White House that has railed against leaks was fractured Wednesday by a new one: President Trump’s decision to pull the United States out of the Paris climate agreement.

An initial story in Axios, attributed to two sources close to the decision, was immediately contradicted by other administration sources who said Trump was leaning toward pulling out of the deal but has made no final decision.

One unnamed official told the Associated Press there may be “caveats” in Trump’s language withdrawing from the deal.

Some sources close to the White House suggested those talking to Axios were opponents of the Paris deal, like chief strategist Stephen Bannon, who were seeking to box the president in by making it more difficult to not exit the deal.

Others speculated the leak came from those who want to remain in the pact, such as senior advisers Jared Kushner or Gary Cohn, in an attempt to whip up opposition to leaving it.

Trump himself said a decision was coming “very soon,” but refused to reveal which way he is leaning.

“You’re going to find out very soon,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office who asked if he was leaning toward exiting the accord. “I’m hearing from a lot of people, both ways. Both ways.”

The result was another confusing day in which it often appeared the administration was fighting itself. [more]

Climate change drama grips the White House