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Republicans Urge Trump to Abandon Paris Agreement

In a two-page letter to the White House, 22 Republican senators urged President Donald Trump to make good on his promise to pull out of the Paris Agreement.

The signatories, which included Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Majority Whip John Cornyn, Ted Cruz, and Rand Paul, cautioned Trump that remaining in the agreement could leave his administration's regulatory rollbacks subject to legal challenges. In March, Trump signed an expansive executive order directing the Environmental Protection Agency to begin the process of dismantling former President Barack Obama's environmental legislation, including the Clean Power Plan.

"Because of existing provisions within the Clean Air Act and others embedded in the Paris Agreement, remaining in it would subject the United States to significant litigation risk that could upend your Administration's ability to fulfill its goal of rescinding the Clean Power Plan," the senators wrote.

Among those urging Trump to stay in the Paris Agreement are his daughter Ivanka, son-in-law Jared Kushner, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Pope Francis, and Senate Democrats, 40 of whom voiced their position in a letter to the White House yesterday.