What You Need To Know About Scott Pruitt, Trump's Pick to lead the EPA

On Thursday, sources confirmed to multiple media outlets that Donald Trump has chosen Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt to lead the Environmental Protection Agency. Earlier in the day, Trump's Homeland Security pick — retired general John Kelly (here's what you should know about him) — was also announced.

The choice of Pruitt is bad news for environmentalists as he has led the charge nationally against President Obama's climate change policies. Here's what you need to know.

Pruitt Has Recently Questioned The Validity Of The Science Behind Global Warming

Pruitt’s opinion on climate change aligns with that of Trump, who repeatedly has dismissed global warming as a hoax, in conflict with the overwhelming scientific consensus that human activity through greenhouse gas emissions is the primary cause of changes in the climate. He co-authored a piece in the Tulsa World in May that the debate over climate “is far from settled,” and that “scientists continue to disagree about the degree and extent of global warming and its connection to the actions of mankind.”

[The Hill]

In 2009, He Tried To Kill The EPA's Declaration That Climate Change Was A Threat To The Public

Pruitt joined a coalition of states and other challengers in a failed attempt to kill EPA’s 2009 scientific declaration that climate change poses a threat to public health and welfare. That EPA "endangerment finding" is the basis for many of the agency's subsequent greenhouse gas rules and is likely to come under new attack under Trump.

[Politico]

Pruitt Is Know For His Lawsuit Against The EPA

Oklahoma, under Pruitt’s lead, was one of two dozen states to file suit against the EPA over the Clean Power Plan, the Obama administration’s regulatory effort to curb emissions from power plants. Pruitt said he would ensure that the power plant rules, and other regulatory efforts from the Obama administration, “will ... not survive his presidency.”

[The Huffington Post]

A 2014 Investigation Found That Pruitt, Among Others, Worked With Oil Companies To Organize Against The EPA

Attorneys general in at least a dozen states are working with energy companies and other corporate interests, which in turn are providing them with record amounts of money for their political campaigns, including at least $16 million this year...[N]ever before have attorneys general joined on this scale with corporate interests to challenge Washington and file lawsuits in federal court...For Mr. Pruitt, the benefits have been clear. Lobbyists and company officials have been notably solicitous, helping him raise his profile as president for two years of the Republican Attorneys General Association[.]

[The New York Times]

Pruitt Has Acknowledged The Need For The EPA, But Specifically Wants To Lift Fossil Fuel Regulations

Speaking to a group of oil and gas executives, Pruitt said:

Whether it’s EPA through [carbon standards], EPA through regional haze [regulations] or Fish and Wildlife through endangered species, what we see is a regulatory approach that says ‘Fossil fuels are bad, and we’re going to do all we can to elevate renewables.’...There is a reason and a need to have an Environmental Protection Agency...The EPA has performed a very important role for us all. There are air-quality issues that cross state lines. There are water-quality issues, obviously, that cross state lines.

[Tulsa World]

Pruitt Was An Active And Vocal Opponent Of Same-Sex Marriage

Throughout the debate on same-sex marriage, Pruitt actively resisted the notion:

A US Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage for all states threatens Oklahomans’ ability to live out their religious beliefs in the public square, Attorney General Scott Pruitt said in a written statement. As an example, Pruitt said, churches and other religious organizations could face having their tax-exempt status revoked for refusing to recognize same-sex marriage.

[Oklahoma Watch]

Pruitt Supported The Supreme Court's Controversial Hobby Lobby Ruling

Pruitt filed a brief in the case supporting the idea that privately held companies could withhold birth control coverage from employees based on religious beliefs:

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that privately-held companies don't have to provide birth control to their employees, if that goes against their religious beliefs. Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt says he's thankful for the high court's ruling in favor of Hobby Lobby. He's known the founders — the Green family — for years, and had filed a brief with the Supreme Court in support of their position.

[News 9]

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