FLICKR, GAGE SKIDMOREUpdate (February 17, 2017): On Friday, the US Senate confirmed Scott Pruitt as head of the Environmental Protection Agency in a 52 to 46 vote. Two Democrats, Joe Manchin III (D-WV) and Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND), crossed the aisle to vote for Pruitt, tipping the scales in his favor. “Mr. Pruitt is unfit to be the leader of EPA, the agency charged with protecting public health and the environment—and the very agency he has spent his career opposing,” said Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) in a statement.
President-elect Donald Trump has tapped Oklahoma attorney general Scott Pruitt to lead the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The choice may indicate Trump’s intent to neuter the agency’s work in combatting human-induced climate change, which both men have not accepted, and scale back what supporters call federal overreach.
“The American people are tired of seeing billions of dollars drained from our economy due to unnecessary EPA regulations,” Pruitt said in a statement, “and I intend to run this agency in a way that fosters both responsible protection of the environment and freedom for American businesses.”
Pruitt has held the position of attorney general since 2010, and previously served in the Oklahoma senate. According to a bio on his office’s website, “Pruitt established Oklahoma’s first federalism unit ...
