The Senate this week voted 53-43 to overturn the Biden administration’s Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule. Meanwhile, two states won relief from the rule in a federal court.
President Biden has indicated he plans to veto the Senate’s resolution.
Four Democrats voted to overturn the rule: Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), Catherine Cortez-Masto (D-NV), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), and Jon Tester (D-MT). Independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) also voted to overturn the rule.
The House voted earlier in March by a margin of 227-198, with nine Democrats joining Republicans.
With a presidential veto likely, Congress would have to override the veto with a two-thirds majority: 290 votes in the House and 67 in the Senate.
The rule formally took effect on March 20, however, a federal judge on Wednesday granted an injunction for Texas and Idaho in a suit challenging the rule.
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas granted the preliminary injunction only to the states of Texas and Idaho, but denied a motion to intervene and a motion for a national injunction. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was the defendant in the case.
Other federal courts will have to consider the suit from the 24 other states challenging the rule.
States in that lawsuit include Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming.
The U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota is also considering the motion by the states and could issue an injunction for the full group, instead of just the two states of Texas and Idaho.
Thus, the WOTUS rule is in effect nationally except for the states of Texas and Idaho, for the time being.
