The Mountain Valley Pipeline has been blocked again despite the debt ceiling bill fast-tracking the project

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ^ | July 15, 2023 | Benjamin Kail

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court in Virginia this week delivered a message to Congress, the White House and developers of the Mountain Valley Pipeline: not so fast.

Pennsylvania-based Equitrans Midstream’s roughly 300-mile pipeline, envisioned to bring shale gas from the Marcellus and Utica in Appalachia to markets in the Southeast, was fast-tracked as part of the Biden administration’s deal with Congress to suspend the debt limit in June. It’s also supported by Pennsylvania congressmen, including U.S. Reps. John Joyce, R-Blair, and Guy Reschenthaler, R-Peters, who joined U.S. Rep. Carol Miller, R-W.Va., to introduce the legislation in May that helped clear legal obstacles to the pipeline.

But now, the project could potentially find its way to the U.S. Supreme Court as environmentalists, Virginia Democrats, the Biden administration and Equitrans argue over whether Congress overstepped its authority by handing all jurisdiction over the pipeline to a federal court in Washington, D.C.

A separate appeals court —the Fourth Circuit, based in Richmond, Va. — issued rulings to temporarily stop construction this week. The decisions clash with a provision in the debt ceiling bill that sought to kill any pending legal action, block future lawsuits and strip jurisdiction from the Fourth Circuit altogether.

“Congress cannot pick winners and losers in pending litigation by compelling findings or results without supplying new substantive law for the courts to apply,” wrote attorneys for environmentalists challenging the pipeline in Virginia.

Dr. Joyce told the Post-Gazette on Thursday that the legislation he wrote specifically “revokes the authority” of the Fourth Circuit to rule on the pipeline.

“The court’s decision is an explicit affront to the rule of law and cements its status as an activist court that is more concerned with scoring political points than objectively interpreting the law,” he said.

[joe fonebone]

OK...
The legislature, in other words the house, has complete control of the courts.
They can impeached judges.
Enough said

[Socon-Econ]

Time to start impeaching judges.

[AnthonySoprano]

.
It’s all about getting Manchin reelected.

[Brian Griffin]

My Democratic neighbors got another lawn guy when their former lawn guy wasn’t doing a proper job.

“The Congress shall power
...
To regulate commerce...among the several states
...
To constitute tribunals inferior to the supreme court
...
To make rules for the government
....
To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested in this Constitution in the government of the United States, or in any department or officer thereof.”

[Brian Griffin]

My Democratic neighbors got another lawn guy when their former lawn guy wasn’t doing a proper job.

“The Congress shall power
...
To regulate commerce...among the several states
...
To constitute tribunals inferior to the supreme court
...
To make rules for the government
....
To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested in this Constitution in the government of the United States, or in any department or officer thereof.”

[Brian Griffin]

Sending a case to a different judge has been thought of before:

https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/aileen-cannon-wrong-judge-preside-trumps-case-rcna89156

[blackdog]

Right out of a Mel Brooks masterpiece. These overlords serve only their special interests and political alliances. I’m so tired of it. What is the constitutional will of the American people is irrelevant. The overlords have installed countermeasures throughout our institutions to strip the people of the elected Republic. They know best, and best is their self preservation and expansive regulatory rule over us.

[BobL]

“Time to start impeaching judges.”

Dream on - Democrats don’t do that (except for very rare criminal activity by judges, and then only sometimes).

[Bonemaker]

I mean really, it’s absolutely impossible to live in peace and harmony with democrats.

[eyeamok]

If Big Oil would become unified and immediately STOP all sales and shipments to Virginia, they would all be walking within 3 days, the entire State would be SHUT DOWN

[kiryandil]

The guilty three-stooge panel of the Fourth:

Two Obama stooges [James Wynn and Stephanie Thacker] and Roger Gregory, a Clinton stooge [the Clinton stooge was schlepped onto the Fourth Circuit for Big Bill by Dubya, the Smirking Chimp]

[Mr. Jeeves]

In a Constitutional world, Congress would simply impeach, convict, and remove this judge forthwith.

I'm not sure exactly when the judiciary became untouchable. Some time after the Alcee Hastings example freaked out the Left, I guess.

[Doulos1]

Joe Manchin got ‘dry cheeked’.