- Transition « Building
the New Administration « Press Release from Trump for
America, Inc.
For Immediate Release
December 8, 2016
President-Elect Donald J. Trump Intends to Nominate Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt to Serve as the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency
“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,” said President-elect Donald Trump. “My administration strongly believes in environmental protection, and Scott Pruitt will be a powerful advocate for that mission while promoting jobs, safety and opportunity."
“I am deeply grateful and honored to serve as President-elect Trump’s EPA Administrator,” said Mr. Pruitt. “The American people are tired of seeing billions of dollars drained from our economy due to unnecessary EPA regulations, and I intend to run this agency in a way that fosters both responsible protection of the environment and freedom for American businesses.”
Mr. Pruitt will be deeply involved in the implementation of President-elect Trump’s energy plan, which will move America toward energy independence, create millions of new jobs and protect clean air and water.
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.
Mr. Pruitt has been a national leader against the EPA’s job-killing war on coal. As Oklahoma’s Attorney General, Pruitt established the state’s first “federalism unit” to combat unwarranted regulation and overreach by the federal government. Pruitt agrees with President-elect Trump that states should have the sovereignty to make many regulatory decisions for their own markets.
What They Are Saying...
Praise for President-Elect Donald J. Trump's Choice of Scott Pruitt
for Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
“I am extraordinarily pleased with President-elect Trump’s decision to nominate Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt to serve as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. For years, Scott has been the go-to leader in resisting the Obama EPA’s regulatory overreach. By standing up to unwarranted and unlawful policies, he has demonstrated rightful concern for Americans whose livelihoods and communities have suffered under intrusive, job-killing regulations. Under Scott’s leadership, I have confidence we can implement commonsense policies that protect both our environment and our economy.”
U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe (R-OK)
“Scott Pruitt has been a leader and a partner on environmental issues for many years, said Inhofe. Pruitt has fought back against unconstitutional and overzealous environmental regulations like Waters of the U.S. and the Clean Power Plan; he has proven that being a good steward of the environment does not mean burdening tax payers and businesses with red tape. In his appearances before the Environment and Public Works committee, Pruitt has demonstrated that he is an expert on environmental laws and a champion of states’ roles in implementing those laws. Scott is thoughtful, experienced and a natural pick for this role. I am pleased with President-elect Trump’s selection and I look forward to working with my fellow Oklahoman in his new capacity.”
U.S. Senator James Lankford (R-OK)
“I applaud President-elect Trump and his team for choosing Scott Pruitt to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, said Lankford. Pruitt has served Oklahoma as a tireless defender of justice and law, and I am confident that he will serve America well. I look forward to working with him to restore a balanced approach to regulations and governance that fosters economic growth, advances energy independence and ensures stewardship for the environment. Scott Pruitt knows the difference between a state responsibility and a federal responsibility. The American people deserve an EPA that rejects extreme activism and instead returns to its proper interpretation of environmental law.”
Texas Governor Greg Abbott
“President-elect Trump’s selection of Scott Pruitt as Administrator of the EPA proves he is serious about creating jobs and rolling back the burdensome regulations implemented by the Obama administration. As Attorneys General, Scott and I sued the EPA on several occasions as it continually ignored the Constitution and sought to implement rules, fees and regulations without congressional oversight or approval. I look forward to working with Scott as he brings common-sense policies to a federal agency that has been one of the biggest job-killers in the Obama administration.”
Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin
“The small business owners, coal miners, and all the hard working people of Kentucky are very pleased with President-elect Donald Trump’s nomination of Scott Pruitt as EPA Administrator. This nomination proves that the President-elect is listening to the American people who want fewer overbearing government regulation from Washington D.C. and more jobs on main street USA. Just like he has done in Oklahoma, Scott Pruitt will fight for the working people and job creators, while ensuring that the air and water are clean and safe.”
Luther Strange, Chairman, Republican Attorneys General Association
“President-elect Trump could not have made a better choice than Scott Pruitt to lead the EPA. General Pruitt has been at the front lines of the fight against federal overregulation, including the unconstitutional Clean Power Plan. He understands the need to protect our environment while also allowing responsible development of our vast natural resources. RAGA is losing a valued member, but the country is gaining a talented individual who will help President Trump restore America’s economic strength.”
Mike Turpen, Former Oklahoma Attorney General
"I’ve worked with Scott Pruitt on a wide variety of issues since he became Oklahoma’s Attorney General. I especially remember his opinion a couple of years ago in which he turned back a political challenge to the Oklahoma’s Promise scholarship program run by the Oklahoma Regents for Higher Education, a Board on which I serve. I have dealt with General Pruitt on a wide variety of other issues as well. In all of my dealings with General Pruitt I have found him to be an honorable man, a good family man, and a man of genuine spirituality.
"I can’t say that I’ve followed everything that General Pruitt has done, but have always found him hard-working, honest, upbeat, and graced with a fine sense of humor. Scott is my friend, and I’m proud of his accomplishments and his upcoming appointment to administer the Environmental Protection Agency. I believe he will be fair minded and diligent in the performance of his duties. He will do Oklahoma and our Nation proud."
Leslie Rutledge, Arkansas Attorney General
“Attorney General Pruitt has been a leader in fighting the over regulation that has been coming from the EPA for many years, said Attorney General Rutledge. I am confident that my friend, mentor and partner in this fight to combat unlawful regulations, General Pruitt, will be a great fit to bring much needed reforms to the EPA and make sure the agency is acting within the scope of the law. I want to see common sense regulations put in place that not only protect our environment but that allow farmers to feed the world and business owners to grow jobs across Arkansas and the country, and I know General Pruitt will make that happen.”
Patrick Morrisey, Attorney General of West Virginia
“My friend and fellow Attorney General Scott Pruitt would be an outstanding EPA Administrator. He’s smart, principled, and the right person to reverse the EPA’s unlawful actions that have hurt small business, job creation and states’ rights. As the AG for a state like mine with bountiful natural resources, in Oklahoma Scott Pruitt has proven you can protect the environment and people’s jobs at the same time.”
Nan Hayworth, Board of Directors, ConservAmerica and former Member House of Representatives (R-NY)
"Scott Pruitt is very much in the mold of our nation’s first environmentalist President, Theodore Roosevelt--an outdoorsman who understands the critical importance of stewardship. As head of the Environmental Protection Agency--which was founded by a Republican administration--Mr. Pruitt will be a strong partner for President Trump in effectively balancing protection of America’s land, water, air, and wildlife with economic prosperity."
Oklahoma House Speaker-designate Charles A. McCall
“Today’s announcement is incredible news not only for Oklahoma, but also for everyone across this nation that believes that states are sovereign and federal power is limited. Attorney General Scott Pruitt has been a champion for freedom and for Oklahoma for the last six years. As a citizen of one of the nation’s leading energy producing states, I am excited for Oklahoma and for Scott, and I cannot think of a better choice for our nation at this critical agency.”
Senator Greg Treat, the Majority Floor Leader of the Oklahoma State Senate
“Because of the leadership of Attorney General Scott Pruitt, Oklahoma has been the point of the spear in the fight against the unlawful and unconstitutional overreach of the EPA the past eight years. I’ve worked alongside Scott in recent years specifically to push back on the Clean Power Plan, and the EPA’s attempt to circumvent Congress and the authority of the states to regulate and conserve their natural resources. No one is more qualified or better suited than Scott Pruitt to reign in the EPA, and restore balance to the agency’s relationships with Congress, the states, and private industry. It certainly is great news for Oklahoma that one of our own has been appointed to a leadership position in the Trump administration, but it’s even better news for our nation and the rule of law that Scott Pruitt will lead the EPA.”
For Immediate Release
Andrew Wimer
National Federation of Independent Business compliments President-elect on selection of Oklahoma Attorney General to environment post
Washington, D.C. (December 8, 2016) – The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), America’s leading small business advocate, issued the following statement from NFIB President and CEO Juanita Duggan regarding the nomination of Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt by President-elect Donald J. Trump:
“Attorney General Pruitt is an excellent choice who will bring some sense to the Environmental Protection Agency. In Oklahoma, he stood with small businesses to oppose federal regulations that would concentrate power in Washington and slow economic growth.
“Under President Obama, the EPA tried to go around Congress to expand its regulatory power. NFIB is leading legal challenges against the Clean Power Plan and Waters of the United States rules, both of which are currently under injunction because of bureaucratic overreach. Pruitt filed suits against these same rules. Small business should be able to count on him to keep the EPA within its statutory boundaries.”
For more information about NFIB, please visit www.nfib.com.
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Michael Tadeo
API’s Gerard looks forward to working with Pruitt as EPA’s next administrator
WASHINGTON, December 8, 2016 – API President and CEO Jack Gerard released the following statement on President-elect Donald J. Trump’s nomination of Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt to serve as the next administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
“Mr. Pruitt’s work as Oklahoma’s Attorney General shows that he understands how important America’s oil and natural gas industry is to our nation and to our economy,” said API President and CEO Jack Gerard. “Under the current administration, our industry is facing a barrage of 145 regulations that would unnecessarily destroy jobs and add costs to consumers.
“Pruitt has a track record of dispelling the false idea that energy development and environmental stewardship cannot go hand in hand. Moving forward, we must have smart, common sense regulations that protect the environment and do not raise prices on Americans.
“We look forward to working with Mr. Pruitt, the new administration, and the new Congress on policies that will keep energy affordable, create jobs, and strengthen our economy as we lead the world in the production of oil and natural gas and reducing carbon emissions.”
API is the only national trade association representing all facets of the oil and natural gas industry, which supports 9.8 million U.S. jobs and 8 percent of the U.S. economy. API’s more than 625 members include large integrated companies, as well as exploration and production, refining, marketing, pipeline, and marine businesses, and service and supply firms. They provide most of the nation’s energy and are backed by a growing grassroots movement of more than 30 million Americans.
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League of Conservation Voters
Contact: Seth Stein
December 7, 2016
LCV Statement on Pruitt's Nomination for EPA Administration
Washington, D.C. – In response to news reports that Trump will nominate Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt as EPA Administrator, League of Conservation Voters President Gene Karpinski issued the following statement:
“Scott Pruitt running the EPA is like the fox guarding the hen house. Time and again, he has fought to pad the profits of Big Polluters at the expense of public health. He’s sued the EPA over commonsense safeguards like the Clean Water Rule and Clean Power Plan and sent letters to federal officials that were written almost entirely by the oil and gas industry. And like fellow Oklahoman Sen. Inhofe, Pruitt is an outright climate denier who has ignored settled science for political points.
“It’s often said that personnel is policy, and President-elect Trump’s decision to nominate someone who has spent his career catering to Big Polluters speaks volumes. The League of Conservation Voters strongly opposes this nomination and urges senators to vote against Scott Pruitt’s confirmation. All people in this country have a right to breathe clean air, drink clean water, and enjoy the economic and health benefits of the clean energy revolution, and it’s vitally important that we have an EPA administrator who respects those rights.”
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Sierra Club
Sierra Club: Scott Pruitt is unfit to serve as EPA Administrator
Nation’s largest environmental organization asks Senate to stand up for Americans and oppose designation
WASHINGTON D.C.-- Today, President-elect Donald Trump announced that he plans to appoint Scott Pruitt as Administrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
In response, Michael Brune, Executive Director of the Sierra Club, released the following statement:
“Having Scott Pruitt in charge of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is like putting an arsonist in charge of fighting fires. He is a climate science denier who, as Attorney General for the state of Oklahoma, regularly conspired with the fossil fuel industry to attack EPA protections.
“Nothing less than our children’s health is at stake. Scott Pruitt, whose own bio describes him as ‘a leading advocate against the EPA’s activist agenda’ cannot be trusted to head the EPA, an agency charged with protecting all Americans from threats to their water, air, and health. We strongly urge Senators, who are elected to represent and protect the American people, to stand up for families across the nation and oppose this nomination.”
Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS)
Media Director
Wednesday, December 7, 2016
Pruitt an Unacceptable Choice to Run EPA
Statement by Ken Kimmell, President, Union of Concerned Scientists
Below is a statement by Ken Kimmell, president of the Union of Concerned Scientists.
“Scott Pruitt is the wrong choice to run the Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA plays an absolutely vital role in enforcing long-standing policies that protect the health and safety of Americans, based on the best available science. Pruitt has a clear record of hostility to the EPA’s mission, and he is a completely inappropriate choice to lead it.
“As Oklahoma’s Attorney General, Pruitt has repeatedly sued the EPA in an attempt to stop the agency from carrying out its work. Pruitt is supported by the very industries he would be responsible for overseeing, particularly fossil fuel producers. He has questioned the clear scientific evidence for climate change and resisted science-based rules that protect our air and water from pollution.
“Pruitt’s statements and actions are in direct conflict with the job to which he has been nominated. If he is approved, his tenure as administrator would be devastating to the EPA’s ability to carry out its mission. The EPA makes sure Americans have clean air to breathe, clean water to drink, healthy communities and safe workplaces. It defends environmental justice and fights the risk of catastrophic climate change. Under Pruitt’s leadership, all of these policies will suffer and so will the Americans who rely on them.
“The U.S. Senate has the responsibility of approving the EPA administrator. It’s this simple: if Senators take seriously their job of protecting the public, they must vote no on Pruitt.”
Main Street Alliance
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, December 07, 2016
Contact: Steve Rouzer
Scott Pruitt-led EPA Could Spell Disaster for Main Street
In addition to denying human contributions to climate change, Pruitt is involved in a lawsuit over the EPA’s Clean Power Plan, aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Main Street Alliance heralded the Obama Administration’s Clean Power Plan as an economic driver that would provide a critical source of green energy jobs and shape the future of the energy sector of our economy. In his opposition, Pruitt could squander an opportunity to invest in the energy of tomorrow keeping the oil and natural gas industries, in which he is heavily invested, in the driver seat.
“When proponents of deregulation, like Pruitt, sell their efforts to reduce regulations, they call them “unnecessary” or “harmful” for small businesses,” said Michelle Sternthal, Deputy Director of Policy and Government Affairs for Main Street Alliance. “But let’s be clear–businesses, like individuals, do better in communities with clean air and water, and with stable environments. Just ask the small business owners whose livelihoods were decimated as a result of the Elk River chemical spill in West Virginia or by Superstorm Sandy. Pulling back on regulations won’t help grow small businesses, and it will put customers, the lifeblood of small businesses, at risk.”
“Pruitt’s deep ties to the oil and gas industries suggest he will create an EPA that works for large corporations at the expense of small businesses. We are tired of champions of deregulation, like Pruitt, using small business’ good name to justify their self-serving attacks on the EPA, an agency working to ensure the safety of my customers and me. It is especially offensive when it comes from the person nominated to head that agency,” said K.B. Brown, the owner of Wolfpack Promotionals in Minneapolis and a member of the Main Street Alliance.
Democratic National Committee
DNC Reacts to Trump's
EPA pick
“It’s clear by now that
Donald Trump lied to voters about draining the swamp, and his selection
of Scott Pruitt to head the EPA puts a giant oil rig right in the
middle of it. Scott Pruitt is a climate change denier
with a long history of opposing
clean air laws. His re-election was bankrolled
by special interests, and he allowed
energy lobbyists to put their words on his official letterhead opposing
rules to protect the air we breathe and the water we drink. In
one
glaring
example, Pruitt took $125,000 from Devon Energy to fund the
Republican Attorneys General Association while giving the energy giant
‘special access’ and ‘other perks’.
“By putting a puppet of
Big Oil in charge of the EPA, Trump shows he doesn’t think much of
protecting the environment, combating climate change, or draining the
swamp.” –DNC Spokesperson Eric Walker
American Bridge 21st Century
December 8, 2016
American Bridge Statement On Scott Pruitt's Nomination for EPA Administrator
American Bridge President Jessica Mackler issued the following statement on Donald Trump's nomination of climate science-denier Scott Pruitt to lead the EPA:"In one of Donald Trump's most dangerous nominations yet, he's tapped a climate science-denier in the pocket of Big Oil to serve as administrator of the EPA, which on Scott Pruitt's watch will on Day One become Every Polluters' Agency.
"It's ironic -- and terrifying -- that Scott Pruitt is set to lead to an agency that he hates; because as the threat of global warming looms and sea levels rise, Pruitt's nomination and assured efforts to roll back President Obama's work to protect our environment are a threat to America's national and economic security."
Copyright © 2016 Eric M. Appleman/Democracy in
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