West Virginia Sen. John Rockefeller threatened yesterday to force a vote on EPA greenhouse gas regulations, but for now, it’s an empty gesture.

Rockefeller had pledged to add an amendment to the omnibus spending bill in the Senate, delaying enforcement of the regulations for two years.

However, just this morning, Senate majority leader Harry Reid pulled the spending bill, saying he didn’t have enough votes to overcome a Republican filibuster of the $1.2 trillion package.

However, as Politico reports, efforts to weaken EPA authority over greenhouse gases are likely to persist in the next Congress.

Ken is the director of the Energy News Network at Fresh Energy and is a founding editor of both Midwest Energy News and Southeast Energy News. Prior to joining Fresh Energy, he was the managing editor for online news at Minnesota Public Radio. He started his journalism career in 2002 as a copy editor for the Duluth News Tribune before spending five years at the Spokesman-Review in Spokane, Washington, where he worked as a copy editor, online producer, features editor and night city editor. A Nebraska native, Ken has a bachelor's degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a master's degree from the University of Oregon. He is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists and Investigative Reporters and Editors.