Facing mounting opposition from environmentalists, frontline communities, and fellow Democratic lawmakers, Sen. Joe Manchin is reportedly asking oil and gas executives to help him build Republican support for permitting legislation that aims to weaken bedrock environmental laws and ease the review process for dirty energy projects.

Bloomberg reported Monday that Manchin’s outreach “has included companies in the mining, utilities, and oil and gas industry,” all of which stand to benefit from a federal permitting overhaul — and all of which donate to the West Virginia Democrat’s political campaigns.

“Passing the legislation would mark a big win for the industry and its long-sought efforts to accelerate permitting and scale back environmental reviews that can take years,” Bloomberg noted. “Among projects that could benefit is a stalled $6.6 billion Mountain Valley natural gas pipeline — which would help to unlock more supplies of the fuel from the Marcellus shale.”

“Manchin is set to address chief executive officers at the Washington-based Business Roundtable’s quarterly meeting […]