Chapter 740: An Unexpected Green Light

Washington, D.C. The night was deep.

Leo was sitting on the sofa in his hotel suite when the door was thrown open.

Mark strode in, waving a document in his hand.

Excitement was written all over his face, and he hadn’t even stopped to wipe the beads of sweat from his forehead.

“Leo, good news!”

Mark walked to the coffee table and slapped the document on it.

“The Democratic Party has budged! They’ve agreed to green-light the Nuclear Regulatory Commission Approval Simplification Bill.”

“They’ve even promised to send a few senior lawmakers to help lobby those die-hard environmentalist Senators. The bill is on the fast track!”

Mark had brought good news. This should have been a moment that called for champagne.

It meant Leo’s pressure on Capitol Hill had been effective, but there wasn’t a trace of joy on his face.

He even felt a hint of confusion.

Just a few hours ago, he’d hit a wall with the Republican Party.

Those energy giants and conservative Politicians he thought he had in his pocket had backstabbed him without hesitation in the face of greater interests.

And now, these members of the Democratic Establishment, who typically relished infighting, had compromised so readily.

This didn’t make sense.

His brow gradually furrowed.

“Why?” Leo asked.

Mark was taken aback. “What do you mean, why? Because we have the votes. They’re afraid we’ll hold up their agenda.”

Leo stood up and paced the room.

“We have twenty-two votes. We can certainly cause trouble for them, but it’s not enough to make them cave this easily.”

“Especially on a sensitive issue like nuclear power, which crosses a line for environmentalists. They could find any number of excuses to stall us. That’s not the Democratic Establishment’s usual playbook.”

Leo stopped pacing.

“There has to be a deeper reason for them to do this. They need this bill to pass, maybe even more urgently than we do.”

“Their willingness to cooperate is a good thing.” Mark loosened his tie. “Leo, don’t overthink it. As long as the bill gets passed, our objective will be met.”

“No.” Leo slowly shook his head. “Earlier today, I might have thought the same.”

Mark paused. “What do you mean?”

“The Republicans opposed it.”

“What?” Mark’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Richard Taylor? This was an easy win handed to him on a silver platter. Why would he oppose it?”

Leo concisely recounted his setback at the Capital Club and the intelligence Ethan had dug up about a secret deal in Houston.

“Unexpected twists like this can happen in Washington.” Leo stared at the coffee cup on the table. “But a compromise that comes too easily usually means we’ve become someone else’s bait.”

“I have to know the real reason.”

Mark’s relaxed demeanor vanished, and his expression turned serious.

“Let’s game this out.” Leo walked to the window, looking at the brightly lit streets of Washington. “If I were Cres, why would I make such a big concession at a time like this to a Mayor who once threatened me?”

“First,” Leo said, turning and holding up a finger, “the general election is drawing near.”

“The Democratic leadership sees it clearly. If they want to win Pennsylvania and hold the Rust Belt, they have to placate me.”

“To stop me from flipping the table, they have to give me something tangible, not just a handful of empty promises.”

Mark nodded. “The Republicans betrayed us for their donors. So could it be the same for Cres? Could this be about his donors, too?”

Leo’s eyes lit up.

“Right. Microsoft and Google. Those tech giants are in urgent need of green power for their data centers, and they’re the biggest Silicon Valley donors backing the Democratic Establishment.”

“I’d bet money Silicon Valley reached out to them. When their donors apply pressure, environmental ideals get tossed aside.”

“Then there’s geopolitics.”

Leo held up a third finger.

“Those energy companies are exporting Pennsylvania’s natural gas on a massive scale to Europe and Asia, which will inevitably lead to a short-term rise in domestic gas prices.”

“Rising gas prices anger voters, and that’s the last thing the Democrats want in an election year.”

“To deflect blame and appease voters, the Democrats desperately need a new narrative about long-term energy independence and clean energy alternatives.”

Mark looked at Leo and replied, “And our nuclear bill is the perfect material for that narrative.”

“They didn’t back down because of our pressure; they’re just taking advantage of the situation, using us as a tool to solve their own problems.”

As Mark listened to the analysis, the excitement drained from his face.

“So what’s our move now? The Democrats might be on board, but without Republican support, the bill will still be tied up in debate for ages. That completely derails our plan.”

“It’s an impasse,”

Leo said.

“I thought our biggest obstacle would be the Democrats.”

“But instead, the Democrats green-lit it without a fight.”

“Meanwhile, the Republican energy tycoons—the very people who claim to be partners of industry—are the ones who stabbed us in the back.”

“Since the Democrats need me now—need me to stabilize the election in Pennsylvania—they can’t expect to buy me off with just this one little concession.”

Leo’s gaze grew cold.

“You go after the softest target. The squeaky wheel gets the grease.”

He picked up his phone and dialed the number of Marcus Crassus, the chairman of the Democratic National Committee.