Story highlights "Although I reverently pledge allegiance to the United States, with regret I hazard the claim that Texas would be better off today as an independent republic free of the yoke of the present federal government," White wrote in 1995.

In her essay, White called the sesquicentennial of Texas statehood "not a happy occasion."

(CNN) President Donald Trump's nominee to be White House senior adviser for environmental policy wrote an essay in 1995 in which she argued that because of federal overreach, including environmental regulations, Texas would be better off as an independent republic.

Kathleen Hartnett White, the nominee to head the White House Council on Environmental Quality, authored the essay for a 1995 edition of the now-defunct Texas Republic magazine marking the 150 year anniversary of Texas statehood. In her essay, White called the sesquicentennial of Texas statehood "not a happy occasion."

White's past writings on politics and policy, particularly as they relate to the federal government's role in regulating the environment, could be a subject to scrutiny during the Senate confirmation process. If confirmed, White would oversee environmental policy across the government. In her 1995 essay, White singled out "onerous" environmental regulations such as the Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act as examples of federal overreach on states' rights.

CNN's KFile obtained a full copy of White's essay from Edward H. Sebesta, an expert of the Texas secessionist and neo-Confederate movements who is writing a book on the Texas Secession movement. White was a rancher at the time she authored the essay. Before that, she had served as the director for private lands for the National Cattlemen's Association.

White did not respond to a CNN request for comment. The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works has not yet scheduled a confirmation hearing for White. Spokespeople for the committee's Republican chairman, Wyoming's John Barrasso, and ranking Democrat, Delaware's Tom Carper, did not immediately respond to requests to comment.

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