Bernie Moreno

Smoke from the Canadian wildfires is spreading across the midwestern and northeastern United States, worsening air quality and creating health hazards for millions of Americans.

Residents in cities from Milwaukee to New York City have taken the trip to a hospital to address breathing issues thought to stem from the smoke, although the causes of the fires are less straightforward.

Still, some congressional lawmakers are looking to cast the blame on the U.S.'s northern neighbor, which has made an effort to control the fires and reduce their hazardous effects on people across the continent.

"I'll be introducing a bill next week to sanction Canada and the responsible Canadian government officials for this atrocity," Senator Bernie Moreno, the Ohio Republican, said in a statement on Thursday.

The fires have spread through Canada as its atmosphere becomes hotter and its forests dryer, conditions weather experts attribute to climate change. It's also inconceivable to control the spread of states-wide smoke once it's in the air.

The U.S., under President Donald Trump, has weakened the global fight against climate change by withdrawing the nation from international agreements and destroying domestic clean energy programs, actions Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney alluded to when asked about Republican criticism on Thursday.

"Each of us has his own responsibility. At the moment, we're emphasizing investment in clean energy, but in the U.S., there are modes of production which are working against clean energy," he said in French comments to reporters, according to a translation. "And Canada is pursuing their efforts on the world scale, whereas the United States are reducing their footprint worldwide."

It's unlikely Moreno's proposed bill gains any traction in the Senate, where the Democratic minority can obstruct it through the filibuster. It's more likely Democrats use the unhealthy air conditions to promote clean energy policy, like they did in 2023 when Canadian wildfire smoke covered parts of the country.

"The work to protect our climate is far from over, and we are dangerously behind," then-Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement. "Again, I am proud of the historic work Democrats did last year to move us in the right direction, but I implore my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to look up at the smog today and recognize we must, we must, do more."

The wildfires that summer provided many Americans a fresh look at the dangers of a warming atmosphere, which had contributed to fires in the western U.S. for several years.