Pump jacks in the Permian Basin in Midland, Texas.

Pump jacks in the Permian Basin in Midland, Texas.

Photographer: Matthew Busch/Bloomberg

Politics

Biden Assurances on Jobs Sting Like Insults in Mines, Oil Patch

Workers don’t want to be viewed as ‘collateral damage’

The Biden administration has gotten off to a rough start trying to reassure coal miners and oil workers whose jobs are threatened by the president’s fight against climate change.

Vice President Kamala Harris drew derision on social media after she told a West Virginia television station that people could be put to work reclaiming abandoned “land mines.” A day earlier, climate envoy John Kerry said during a White House briefing that displaced laborers face “better choices” making solar panels and installing wind turbines.