Of attention at embassy in NZ

The US Senate has confirmed Donald Trump’s pick to run the Environmental Protection Agency over the objections of Democrats and environmentalists worried he will gut the agency. Scott Pruitt sued the agency more than a dozen times when he was Oklahoma attorney general.

Trump, scrambling to find a new top security aide after firing his first one and being spurned by another candidate, said yesterday he has four people under consideration including acting national security adviser Keith Kellogg. Trump ousted Michael Flynn on Tuesday and on Friday retired ViceAdmiral Robert Harward turned down the offer to replace Flynn.

Trump is poised to tap a Republican media relations firm owner to oversee his White House communications, according to reports. Crossroads Media founder Mike Dubke is expected to be named White House communications director, a move that could help spokesman Sean Spicer, who has handled both duties since Trump took office last month.

The US Marshals Service says it is now providing security for Education Secretary Betsy DeVos after a handful of protesters blocked her from entering a Washington middle school. The marshals are law enforcement officers who are generally responsible for protecting federal judges, transporting prisoners, investigating fugitives and protecting witnesses. DeVos won confirmation only by the slimmest of margins. A Michigan billionaire, she spent three decades lobbying for private school vouchers, charter schools and other alternatives to traditional public schools.