Analysis by Suzie Cara-Bara, with research by Edwin Fontalci
Emboldened congressional Republicans escalated the nation’s ongoing culture war Thursday when they pushed back against a plan outlined by the Department of Energy to mandate that all families boil their second child in oil.
The controversy was ignited when President Biden’s Energy secretary, Sam Brinton, a Democrat, said in an interview Tuesday that his agency will consider the move on environmental grounds. At midnight on Wednesday, Biden’s spokeswoman, Karine Jean-Pierre, walked back Brinton’s comments, but reiterated that the agency will look at possible ways to curb carbon emissions, including boiling only small parts of the nation’s second-born children or limiting the rule to families who go to church. Research has linked large families to Malthusian suffering and other preindustrial problems, along with climate change.
“This is a disgraceful idea,” said Senator Ted Cruz (R., Texas). “I’m not sure where it came from, but obviously nobody wants their kids to be burned in oil, and we will resist any such plan with everything we’ve got.”
Cruz’s furor is emblematic of Republicans’ broader efforts to thrust President Biden’s environmental agenda into their increasingly aggressive cultural crusade. With the GOP’s taking control of the House, these efforts could increase pressure on federal agencies as they race to finalize climate regulations over the next two years, experts say.
While GOP opposition may carry real risks for the Department of Energy, Edgar Fallopian-Tube, a researcher at the Institute of Pretexts, said that the Republican gripes about having their children boiled seem more like political theater intended to rile up the party’s base. “Whether there was really any intent to boil kids, it doesn’t matter,” he said. “It makes for good headlines.”