US Government Boycotts Cop31 as Democrats Win Midterms
President Donald Trump has declined to send an official US delegation to the Cop31 climate summit in Turkey despite a Democratic sweep of Congress.
The United States government will not participate in the Cop31 climate summit in Antalya, Turkey. Donald Trump continues to dismiss the climate crisis as a "hoax" and a "green scam," leading to an official snub of the international talks.
Despite the lack of federal representation, approximately 20 Democratic members of Congress are attending the summit using philanthropic funding after the State Department denied them assistance. This delegation arrives following midterm elections in which Democrats won control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate.
While the new congressional majority cannot immediately override Trump's veto power to change federal policy, Democratic lawmakers intend to use subpoena and investigative powers to probe the Environmental Protection Agency. They specifically aim to address staff cuts and the withholding of clean energy spending. International delegates view the election results as a signal that the United States may eventually return to international climate frameworks.
