EPA delays until summer rule for new power plants _ also delaying GOP plans to block it

The Obama administration is delaying for months a final rule to control carbon dioxide emissions at new coal-fired power plants.

A final rule was due by law on Jan. 8. But the EPA announced Wednesday it would wait until mid-summer.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky has vowed to overturn the emissions rules. He tried in January 2014 when Democrats controlled the chamber. But Congress' investigative arm said he would have to wait for a final rule.

That rule will lock in a transition to cleaner energy that's already underway. The proposed rule was announced in September 2013, but not published until January 2014. Republicans charged the delay was political.