"GOP Congressional Leaders Denounce U.S.-China Deal on Climate Change"

"Any hope for Congress to reconvene with a sense of bipartisanship was quickly erased Wednesday morning as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) sharply criticized the announcement of a new climate deal between the United States and China.

McConnell made his comments during a morning coffee with 10 newly elected Republican senators in his office off the Senate floor. As his new colleagues stood beaming, McConnell was asked by reporters whether he planned to shift the Senate to the political middle in hopes of reaching accord with President Obama and Democrats.

'The president continues to send a signal that he has no intention of moving toward the middle,' said McConnell, who is in line to become the new Senate majority leader in January. 'I was particularly distressed by the deal he’s reached with the Chinese on his current trip, which, as I read the agreement, it requires the Chinese to do nothing at all for 16 years, while these carbon emission regulations are creating havoc in my state and other states across the country.'"

Ed O'Keefe, David Nakamura, and Steven Mufson report for the Washington Post November 12, 2014.

SEE ALSO:

"Awkward: Watch a Supercut of Republicans Using China As an Excuse to Do Nothing About Climate Change" (Mother Jones)

Comment: "Right Wing Freaks Out Over China-U.S. Climate Change Deal" (Los Angeles Times)

"China Climate Deal? 'Pffffft,' Say Republicans" (Huffington Post)

"Inhofe Blasts US-China Climate Pact As ‘Non-Binding Charade’" (The Hill)