Pruitt’s confirmation hearing set for Wednesday

Democratic senators are stepping up their opposition to Attorney General Scott Pruitt ahead of his Wednesday confirmation hearing for administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.

Nine Democrats on the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, the panel that will hold the oneday hearing, sent a letter Thursday to the EPA’s ethics official and the U.S. Office of Government Ethics, questioning potential conflicts Pruitt may have in leading an agency he has sued.

Earlier this week, the office released Pruitt’s personal financial disclosure report and said it complies with applicable federal laws and rules.

The Democrats said in a letter to Walter M. Shaub Jr., the office’s director, that the report may not provide a full picture of ethical issues Pruitt faces.

They express concerns over Pruitt’s involvement in organizations receiving contributions from corporations regulated by the EPA.

“During his tenure as attorney general of Oklahoma, Mr. Pruitt has blurred the distinction between official and political actions, often at the behest of corporations he will regulate if confirmed to lead the EPA,” the letter stated.

“Public reporting based on documents produced by Freedom of Information Act requests illustrate how Mr. Pruitt and members of his staff have worked closely with fossil fuel lobbyists to craft his office’s official positions.”

Pruitt was chairman of the Rule of Law Defense Fund, a Washingtonbased tax-exempt organization founded in 2014, but he has notified the EPA that he has resigned from the group.

He also is dissolving two political action committees.

The letter from the Democrats drew criticism from conservative organizations, including a group called America Rising Squared.

“The fact is that these Senate Democrats are bought and paid for by out-of-touch groups that are proposing policies that would destroy millions of jobs and cost our country billions of dollars,” the group said in a statement.

“Instead of listening to the message sent by the American people, these Senators are committed to doing the bidding of these fanatical organizations because they have flooded them with $4.7 million in combined campaign cash.”