Scott Pruitt is under fire. Ordered by an Oklahoma City court today to publicly release his emails with dirty energy companies, a member of his own party has also said she will vote against his appointment as head of the Environmental Protection Agency.
Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine has raised “considerable doubts” about Pruitt’s plans for the EPA, questioning whether they are “consistent with the agency’s critical mission to protect human health and the environment.”
Collins joins Independent US Senator Angus King of Maine in opposing Pruitt’s appointment, adding to a broad movement that includes hundreds of current and former EPA workers alarmed by the prospect of a climate denier as EPA chief.
Change may happen swiftly, with staff at the EPA reportedly expecting President Trump to sign a number of executive orders to revamp the agency once a new administrator is confirmed.
This is why a court ruling on Thursday (February 16) overriding Pruitt’s ongoing attempt to stonewall the release of his communications with polluters while Oklahoma attorney general is so important.
The Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) had tried via the Oklahoma Open Records Act for more than two years to access Pruitt’s communications. Now they’ve succeeded!
Pruitt’s actions have already made it clear he wants to dismantle the EPA – as Oklahoma attorney general he sued the agency at least 14 times. His allegiance is clearly with the dirty energy giants who have supported him for years.
So far, Pruitt’s office has released just 411 emails from more than 3,000 emails, raising the question of whether Pruitt has dirty fossil fuel secrets.
This is an issue of trust – a quality desperately in short supply for the Trump administration since national security advisor Michael Flynn resigned for providing “incomplete information” over his contacts with a Russian ambassador.
Flynn’s deception’s and Pruitt’s attempt to ride roughshod over public disclosure laws are a strange turnaround since Trump’s vitriolic attacks on Hillary Clinton and her email practices while she served as secretary of state.
This is a case of double standards.
Instead of allowing the release of these documents to inform their decision on Pruitt’s nomination, Republicans in the Senate are now trying to rush his confirmation vote, rejecting a Democrats push for a delay.
This shows how the resistance is gaining momentum!
While his administration increasingly in disarray, it this is the type of transparency President Trump is trying to avoid. Flynn has resigned and Trump’s pick for labor secretary, Andrew Pazder, has withdrawn.
Is #PollutingPruitt next?
CALL your senators & tell them to vote NO on Pruitt 1-877-969-2590. A climate denier has no place running the EPA! #PollutingPruitt pic.twitter.com/oEYhUw2ubl
— Greenpeace USA (@greenpeaceusa) February 16, 2017
Seize the momentum. Call your senators and tell them to vote NO on Pruitt 1-877-969-2590.
