We're talking about Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, who President-elect Trump said today he wants to be EPA Administrator. That'd be the same Scott Pruitt who is suing (with other Attorneys General) the EPA over its Clean Power Plan. And the same Scott Pruitt who signed his name to letters written by energy lobbyists bellyaching that environmental rules were economically damaging. And the same Scott Pruitt who had the CEO of an energy company as his 2013 re-election campaign co-chairman. He also wrote that the debate over man-made climate change is, "is far from settled." In other words, don't expect the EPA leader to do much leading on climate change in the coming years. On the automotive front, the EPA is obviously connected to the US CAFE standards, so we will be watching Priutt's actions closely.
Trump had hinted that Myron Ebell would be the next EPA Administrator, but that appears to no longer be the case. NextGen Climate president Tom Steyer issued a statement about the decision:
Donald Trump lost the popular vote by the largest margin in history, with the majority of Americans rejecting Trump and his extreme agenda. Americans want to transition to clean energy to protect our air, our water and our climate, but rather than respecting the will of the people, Trump has chosen a nominee for Environmental Protection Agency Administrator who has a record of putting corporate polluters' profits ahead of our health. Donald Trump's decision to nominate Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt represents a serious attack on American values. It's now up to the Senate to stand on the right side of history and fight for our families by defeating this nomination.
Senator Bernie Sanders has a few choice words about Pruitt as well:
Trump's nominee to lead EPA, Scott Pruitt, is a climate denier who's worked closely with the fossil fuel industry. That's sad and dangerous.
— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) December 7, 2016
Sign in to post
Please sign in to leave a comment.
Continue