EXCLUSIVE: Rep. Andy Barr Backs President Trump abandoning Paris Climate Accords amid potential Senate bid

Right after rolling out the biggest fundraising quarter ever, Rep. Andy Barr (R., Ky.) is rolling out a resolution, exclusively obtained by the Washington Reporter, to give President Donald Trump some backup on withdrawing from the Paris Climate Accords.

Barr, who is a rumored candidate to replace Sen. Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.), raised over $2 million last quarter — almost four times that of one of the other leading candidates. The Kentucky Republican is teaming up with Rep. Riley Moore (R., W.Va.) to back “the action of the President to withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement,” according to a resolution they are both filing today.

“President Trump made the right call when he got us out of the Paris Agreement,” Barr told the Reporter. “It was a bad deal — anti-coal, anti-American, and a gift to China.”

“I’m proud to stand with President Trump and defend Kentucky energy from globalist climate mandates that would cripple our economy and kill jobs,” he continued. “America leads by innovation, not surrender.”

The Paris Climate Accords, Barr has noted, were part of what he’s called “Biden’s anti-coal agenda.” Were the United States to implement policies these suggest, it would continue a devastation of the coal industry, which remains important in Kentucky and beyond.

This latest move from Barr, a close congressional ally to President Trump, would likely aid him in a primary where he can point to a history of winning competitive races.

Democrats are desperate enough to recruit Gov. Andy Beshear (D., Ky.) to run, although he has rebuffed their attempts. It also continues to position Barr well within the anti-ESG realm of the Republican Party.