CRITIC OF EPA RUNS IT NOW
Pick angered environmentalists
As Oklahoma’s attorney general, Scott Pruitt filed 14 lawsuits against the Environmental Protection Agency. The Senate confirmed him as EPA chief on a nearly party-line vote.
WASHINGTON — Over the strong objections of environmental groups, the Senate confirmed Scott Pruitt to lead the Environmental Protection Agency on Friday, giving President Donald Trump an eager partner to fulfill his campaign pledge to increase the use of planet-warming fossil fuels.
Pruitt was sworn in later Friday by Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito.
In six years as Oklahoma’s attorney general, Pruitt filed 14 lawsuits challenging EPA regulations.
Pruitt’s supporters cheered his confirmation, hailing the 48-year-old Republican lawyer as the ideal pick to roll back environmental regulations they say are a drag on the nation’s economy.
The vote was 52-46 as Republican leaders used their party’s narrow Senate majority to push Pruitt’s confirmation despite calls from top Democrats to delay the vote until requested emails are released next week.
Sen. Susan Collins of Maine was the lone Republican vote against Pruitt. Two Democrats from states with economies heavily dependent on fossil fuels crossed party lines to support Trump’s pick, Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota.
During his Senate confirmation hearing last month, Pruitt said he disagreed with Trump’s past statements that global warming is a hoax. However, Pruitt has previously expressed doubt about scientific evidence showing that the planet is heating up and that humans are to blame.
Pruitt’s nomination was vigorously opposed by environmental groups and hundreds of current and former EPA employees.