John McCain just delivered Trump a rare loss in his bid to roll back energy rules/CNBC

This is good news.  In our view there is no good reason to turn back any environmental protection rules.  We can meet high EPA standards and still thrive economically.  Why would we accept less than clean air, water, soil and balance in our lives?

Trump's proposal would have done nothing for job creation.  It would simply have turned back the clock on our ecological progress.  Great to see it turned down.  Now he can spend some time getting more conversant in the booming green economy and be part of the solution instead of a big part of the problem.

• Sens. John McCain, Lindsey Graham and Susan Collins voted with Democrats against revoking a rule to limit methane emissions from oil and gas operations.
• The measure failed in a 49-51 vote.
• This marks a rare loss for President Donald Trump in his bid to roll back Obama-era energy rules and boost U.S. fossil fuel production.

Tom Williams | CQ Roll Call | Getty Images

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.

The Trump administration and Republicans suffered a rare loss in their bid to roll back Obama-era energy regulations on Wednesday, as three GOP senators voted against revoking a rule to prevent methane leaks from oil and gas production.

Sen. John McCain cast a surprise vote against the measure, joining Democrats and fellow Republicans Lindsey Graham and Susan Collins to defeat the repeal attempt in a 49-51 vote.

McCain and Graham have been two of Trump's toughest critics among GOP lawmakers, primarily on matters of national security and allegations of alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election. On Tuesday, McCain criticized Trump for firing FBI Director James Comey, who was leading an investigation into whether Trump's associates coordinated with Russia to tip the election in the president's favor.

Republicans and the energy industry had sought to repeal the Bureau of Land Management regulation, which limits flaring of the potent greenhouse gas methane from oil and gas operations on federal land, through the Congressional Review Act.

Republicans have frequently employed the once little-used method to kill regulations passed in the final months of President Barack Obama's time in office.

In a statement, McCain expressed reservations about the rule, but said using the Congressional Review Act to repeal it would prevent BLM from creating a substantially similar rule. He said the public interest would be best served if the bureau instead revised the existing rule.

"Improving the control of methane emissions is an important public health and air quality issue," he said, adding, "I join the call for strong action to reduce pollution from venting, flaring and leaks associated with oil and gas production operations on public and Indian land."

In his first 100 days in office, President Donald Trump has set in motion the repeal of Obama's signature plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, relaxed rules on coal waste, teed up a potential easing of automobile fuel efficiency standards and rescinded a host of other energy industry regulations and guidelines in a bid to increase fossil fuel production.