Climate change has essentially been rendered to hoax status by the Trump administration, which may explain why Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) was the lone member of Congress attending last week’s COP30 summit in Brazil.
What’s more, the Democrat was not happy that taxpayers did not fund his little tropical jaunt — at least, not directly, as he made that clear during a press conference.
Explaining his trip was funded by the House of Representatives Sustainable Energy & Environment Coalition, which was founded in January 2009 during the Obama administration, Whitehouse whined, “My credentials don’t say United States of America… That’s how bad the Trump administration has become.”
Sheldon Whitehouse is very upset that the State Dept refused to pay for his COP30 trip to Brazil:
“My credentials don’t say United States of America… That’s how bad the Trump administration has become.”
— Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) November 20, 2025
The ranking Democrat on the Environment and Public Works Committee said the State Department made it harder for members of Congress to attend.
“There was a very deliberate pattern of behavior to try to discourage official attendance here, including making it just logistically really challenging,” Whitehouse said,
The State Department was eager to agree.
“The Trump Administration refused to use taxpayer dollars to send or facilitate any official travel for this conference, which is dedicated to hamstringing the American economy and bankrupting the American people,” a spokesperson said in a statement. “Any Members of Congress in attendance have made alternative plans for credentials.”
Here’s a quick sampling of responses to the story, as seen on X:
Sooo we have to pay for his flight to Brazil why???
— Isaac (@IcedViews) November 20, 2025
The real White House is in charge now.
— Kevin M. Nelson (@KevinMNelsonUSA) November 20, 2025
He wants taxpayers to pay for his vacation to Brazil
— LibertyLoverStokes_2024 (@L202473203) November 20, 2025
Awe poor me Sheldon.
— Webmiester (@Webmiester) November 20, 2025
He’s the Senator whose club does not allow Black members?
— JimNorCal (@JimNorCal) November 20, 2025
— NormalityOneliness (@NormOneCA) November 20, 2025
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Tom Tillison grew up in Maryland before moving to Central Florida as a young teen. It is in the Sunshine State that he honed both his passion for politics and his writing skills. Tillison also contributes to BizPac Review.
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