Dec 8, 2016

Trump pick for EPA administrator praised, panned

President-elect Trump has announced his intent to nominate Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt to serve as the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, a cabinet-level position.

“For too long, the Environmental Protection Agency has spent taxpayer dollars on an out-of-control anti-energy agenda that has destroyed millions of jobs, while also undermining our incredible farmers and many other businesses and industries at every turn. As my EPA Administrator, Scott Pruitt, the highly respected Attorney General from the state of Oklahoma, will reverse this trend and restore the EPA’s essential mission of keeping our air and our water clean and safe,” Trump said. “My administration strongly believes in environmental protection, and Scott Pruitt will be a powerful advocate for that mission while promoting jobs, safety and opportunity.”

The announcement has drawn praise from agricultural organizations and scorn from environmental groups.

“President-elect Trump’s selection of Scott Pruitt to lead the Environmental Protection Agency is welcome news to America’s farmers and ranchers — in fact, to all who are threatened by EPA’s regulatory overreach — and should help provide a new degree of fairness for U.S. agriculture,” said Zippy Duvall, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation. “We know that in his position as attorney general in Oklahoma, Pruitt has stood up for common-sense, effective regulation that protects the environment and the rights of the regulated community. We have been grateful for his effective legal work in response to EPA’s overreaching Waters of the U.S. Rule.”

Environmental Defense Fund president Fred Krupp called the Pruitt nomination “deeply troubling.”

“President-elect Trump’s choice for EPA Administrator has a record of attacking the environmental protections that EPA is charged with enforcing,” Krupp said. “Every president-elect has a right to assemble his team, and many nominations are approved by a simple voice vote in the Senate. Scott Pruitt has built his political career by trying to undermine EPA’s mission of environmental protection. He is a deeply troubling choice to head the agency that protects the clean air all Americans breathe and the clean water we drink. Our country needs – and deserves – an EPA administrator who is guided by science, who respects America’s environmental laws, and who values protecting the health and safety of all Americans ahead of the lobbying agenda of special interests.”

Pruitt will be deeply involved in the implementation of Trump’s energy plan, which will move America toward energy independence, create millions of new jobs and protect clean air and water, according to the president-elect in a Facebook page statement.

“Mr. Pruitt will ensure that we conserve our natural habitats, reserves and resources, while unleashing an energy revolution that will bring vast new wealth to our country. Mr. Pruitt agrees with President-elect Trump that we must rescind all job-destroying executive actions and eliminate all barriers to responsible energy production. This will create at least a half million jobs each year and produce $30 billion in higher wages,” according to the Trump statement.