EPA head wants to be Trump’s top attorney

washington — US Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt, the conservative former attorneygeneral of Oklahoma, is interested in replacing Attorney-General Jeff Sessions if that job becomes available, sources with knowledge of the matter said on Friday.

President Donald Trump has openly criticised Sessions for months, provoking speculation that the attorney-general might resign or be fired. The EPA chief would likely accept the position if it were offered by Trump, a source close to Pruitt said.

Pruitt was the runner-up to Sessions for the attorney-general post when Trump was first assembling his cabinet, according to the source.

Jahan Wilcox, an EPA spokesman, said, “Administrator Pruitt is solely focused on implementing President Trump’s agenda to protect the environment.”

As EPA chief, Pruitt has worked to overturn a number of environmental policies put in place under Barack Obama and was instrumental in the US decision to walk away from the 2015 Paris climate change accord.

Another source said Pruitt felt that serving as attorney general would be a better fit for him than his current job or running either for governor or senator in his home state.

News organisation Politico first reported Pruitt’s interest in the attorney-general job.

Trump has been at odds with Sessions since the attorney-general recused himself in March from the federal investigation into potential collusion between the Trump’s presidential campaign and Russia in the 2016 US election. Pressure on Sessions has been rising, and some conservative Republican lawmakers have called on him to resign.

The White House said Pruitt will attend a weekend meeting at the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland with Trump, other cabinet members and Republican congressional leaders to lay out legislative priorities for the year and discuss a strategy for the November congressional elections. Sessions will not attend, his office said.

Pruitt served as Oklahoma’s attorney general prior to taking the EPA job, suing the EPA 14 times, each time taking the side of industry. —