Jordan Wollman, “Mass. Sierra Club takes unprecedented step to call for removal of House energy chair,” CommonWealth Beacon, January 27, 2026.

Not everyone agrees that Sierra Club’s move has drawbacks. Jonathan Cohn, policy director at the advocacy group Progressive Mass, said it’s clear from Cusack’s November version of the energy affordability bill that he isn’t taking his cues from groups like Sierra Club anyway.

“From the universe of not wanting to deny yourself access, if you never had access to begin with, there’s at least not as much in the way of real loss,” Cohn said. “And evaluating how back in November environmental groups across the state were able to rally members and make enough representatives scared to vote yes on his bill, it showed that power lies in that ability to have an organized and mobilized grassroots base. Trying to defeat that bill on the basis of only talking to the highest people in the building was not going to be a viable strategy.”