Unusual bedfellows emerged Tuesday as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell slammed a late effort by Democratic leadership to include energy legislation championed by Sen. Joe Manchin III in an unrelated defense policy bill.
Top Democrats are vying to include a version of previously failed permitting reform by Mr. Manchin, West Virginia Democrat, in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). That’s drawing a bipartisan rebuke for trying to add an extraneous measure that would fast-track energy projects and greenlight a long-stalled natural gas pipeline in his home state onto annual must-pass legislation.
“House and Senate Democrats are still obstructing efforts to close out the NDAA by trying to jam in unrelated items with no relationship whatsoever to defense,” said Mr.