Sen. John Barrasso criticized Democrats for boycotting a committee hearing to advance Scott Pruitt's nomination. | Getty Republicans advance Pruitt to floor despite Dem boycott

Republicans on the Senate environment committee suspended their rules Thursday to circumvent a Democratic boycott of Scott Pruitt’s nomination to lead the Environmental Protection Agency.

It was the second time in as many days that Republicans have advanced President Donald Trump's Cabinet nominees out of committee without any Democrats in attendance.


Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), who chairs the Environment and Public Works Committee, said the move was necessary to overcome unjustified obstruction that was preventing Trump from staffing his administration.

“We took this extraordinary step because the minority members of the committee took the extraordinary step of boycotting the business meeting of an EPA administrator for an incoming administration,” Barrasso said after Thursday's committee vote.

While Republicans boycotted a committee vote on President Barack Obama's nomination of Gina McCarthy to lead EPA in 2013, Barrasso said that was different from what Democrats were doing this week because they had not stopped Obama's first round of Cabinet nominees.

While the environment committee's rules typically require at least two minority lawmakers be present to conduct business, Republicans suspended that rule to allow Pruitt's nomination to proceed. Since Republicans have only a one-seat majority, Sen. Jeff Sessions had to appear for the vote to go forward. Pruitt's nomination was approved with all 11 Republicans voting in favor and no Democrats voting.

"It's disappointing that they chose that course of action, but we will not allow it to obstruct," Chairman John Barrasso said of Democrats' decision to boycott.

Barrasso also pointed out that Democrats cited an exception in the rules to push a cap-and-trade bill through committee in 2009, despite Republicans boycotting the markup of that bill. At the time, Barrasso and other Republicans said that tactic was invalid. But Barrasso on Thursday said the Senate parliamentarian had blessed his decision to suspend the rules requiring members of the minority to be present.

“We have been in consultation with the Senate parliamentarian, and she has informed us that the procedure that we have followed today is proper under the Senate rules and no point of order will lie against the Pruitt nomination,” Barrasso said after the vote.

The Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday similarly changed its rules to advance Trump's nominees for Treasury and Health and Human Services over Democratic objections.

It is unclear when Pruitt’s nomination will get a floor vote, but he appears positioned to be confirmed, albeit with a slim majority. The only Republican to hesitate publicly over Pruitt is Sen. Susan Collins, and he seems likely to pick up at least one Democratic vote, Sen. Joe Manchin, and possibly other red-state Democrats.