Scott Pruitt

Environmental Protection Agency administrator

Donald Trump picks climate change sceptic Scott Pruitt to lead EPA Read more

Background

Scott Pruitt is a controversial choice to head the Environmental Protection Agency. A climate change skeptic who has repeatedly sued the agency, Pruitt faces strong opposition from Democrats and environmentalists who view him as too cozy with the fossil fuel industry and a direct threat to Barack Obama’s agenda to halt global warming.

Pruitt, who has served as Oklahoma’s attorney general since 2011, is currently representing the state in a lawsuit against the EPA to halt the clean power plan, an effort by the Obama administration to curb greenhouse gas emissions from coal-fired power plants.

Pruitt has called the EPA’s rule “unlawful and overreaching” and has cast doubt on the overwhelming scientific evidence that human activity is causing the planet to warm.

Key points to watch

Climate change and climate science: Donald Trump has called climate change a “hoax invented by the Chinese” and pledged to withdraw the US from the Paris agreement, the international commitment to reduce carbon emissions. Pruitt has so far expressed a consistency with the president-elect’s thinking. Democrats will probably grill Pruitt over his own past comments on climate change, a debate he has said is “far from over” despite the consensus among scientists that fossil fuels are a primary cause of global warming. He may be pressed to defend his views and explain why he is skeptical of climate science.

Regulatory action: The Obama administration has taken action to regulate air and water pollution to curb greenhouse gas emissions, all of which are in jeopardy with Pruitt at the helm of the EPA. He is likely to face a line of questioning on his belief that it is the right of the state – and not the role of the federal government - to regulate the environment. But air quality and bodies of water do not abide by state lines, so how does he propose dealing with interstate and national issues?

Fossil fuel industry: Pruitt will probably be pressed over his ties to the fossil fuel industry by Democrats who are alarmed that as head of the EPA he will prioritize business over environmental protection. Democrats will probably try to extract a commitment from him to protect the environment over business interests. He is also likely to be asked about the companies he has received money from and whether he would recuse himself from decisions involving these companies.