Trump picks Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt to lead the EPA
Donald Trump plans to tap Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, as environmental groups and Democratic lawmakers denounced the selection of a state official who has sued the agency he is now slated to lead. Ref. USAToday.
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Scott Pruitt (Hover)
This pick is kind of worrisome for those interested in the environment. This guy fought for big business against environmental protection via the EPA, now he is headed to run the same agency that he fought against?
International Level: Activist / Political Participation: 28 2.8%
EPA nominee Scott Pruitt contradicts Trump's claim that climate change is a hoax
Scott Pruitt, President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to head the Environmental Protection Agency, said during his confirmation hearing Wednesday that he does not agree with Trump that climate change is a hoax, but he stopped short of saying that human activity is the main culprit or that the U.S. Must reduce its use of fossil fuels to solve the problem. Ref. USAToday.
Senate confirms Scott Pruitt as Environmental Protection Agency administrator
Scott Pruitt was confirmed by the Senate as EPA chief on Friday afternoon, despite a last-minute attempt by Democrats to delay the vote. An Oklahoma judge ruled late Thursday that Pruitt must release about 3,000 emails relating to his communication with oil, gas and coal companies while he served as Oklahoma's attorney general, and Democrats had sought to push back his confirmation vote to give senators a chance to read the first batch of Pruitt's emails, set to be released Tuesday. Ref. USAToday.
I think he will do good in leading the EPA. Sometimes one who was against it can help change it to make it a even better agency for the future. The fact that he is a believer in global warming is a plus in my book. I guess we need to keep a eye on this and see how it all pans out.
I think he'll think out of the box. I also think he'll take narrow the scope of the EPA so that it does what it was meant to do, help the environment, while not making it nearly impossible to do business here. More than anything else, EPA regulations and our excessive tax code has caused jobs to move out of the country and I hope this changes. We were once called the Arsenal of Democracy because we built a tremendous amount of material. We still have a lot of manufacturing but it's leaving and that needs to stop.
EPA chief Pruitt says alarming climate change findings will not deter regulatory rollback. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt told USA TODAY he will continue efforts to roll back Obama-era regulations aimed at combating climate change even though a comprehensive federal report released last week blames human activity for the rise of global temperatures. The Trump administration last month began the formal process of dismantling the Clean Power Plan, a rule intended to curb carbon emissions that contribute to global warming. Ref. USAToday.
Pruitt directly asked Trump to replace Sessions with him
Embattled Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt directly appealed to President Donald Trump this spring to fire Attorney General Jeff Sessions and let him run the Department of Justice instead, according to three people familiar with the proposal. In an Oval Office conversation with Trump, Pruitt offered to temporarily replace Sessions for 210 days under the Vacancies Reform Act, telling the President he would return to Oklahoma afterward to run for office.
Pruitt's direct appeal to the President has not been reported previously.
Advisers quickly shot down the proposal, but it came at a time when Trump's frustration with Sessions over his decision to recuse himself from overseeing the Russia investigation had resurfaced. Trump has complained loudly and publicly about the recusal for the last 14 months, and floated replacing Sessions with Pruitt as recently as April. Ref. CNN.