With Democrats boycotting the committee for the second day in a row, the Republican majority on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee approved, 11-0, the nomination of Scott Pruitt to be EPA administrator. The nomination was sent to the Senate for a floor vote after Republicans suspended rules that require the presence of two minority-party members to conduct business.
“I am confident the full Senate will confirm him soon,” said Chairman John Barrasso of Wyoming. Pruitt, now attorney general of Oklahoma, “is committed to ensuring clean water, land and air for all Americans while pursuing policies that allow our economy to grow,” said Barrasso. Environmentalists say Pruitt has a record of siding with the oil industry rather than protecting the public.
The senior Democrat on the committee, Tom Carper of Delaware, said Pruitt failed to give straightforward answers to questions about his beliefs and did not provide background material requested by senators. The 10 Democrats on the committee said in a statement that Pruitt was unable during his confirmation hearing “to name one EPA regulation on the books today that he supports and unable to demonstrate basic scientific knowledge regarding the dangers of toxic pollutants like lead and mercury.”