“To have any kind of focus on the cause and effect of the storm; versus helping people, or actually facing the effect of the storm, is misplaced. To discuss the cause and effect of these storms, there’s the… place and time to do that, it’s not now.”
— EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, telling CNN that talking about climate change would be “very, very insensitive” to the people of Florida.
“When career employees of the Environmental Protection Agency are summoned to a meeting with the agency’s administrator, Scott Pruitt, at agency headquarters, they no longer can count on easy access to the floor where his office is,” the New York Times reports.
“Doors to the floor are now frequently locked, and employees have to have an escort to gain entrance. Some employees say they are also told to leave behind their cellphones when they meet with Mr. Pruitt, and are sometimes told not to take notes.”
“Mr. Pruitt, according to the employees, who requested anonymity out of fear of losing their jobs, often makes important phone calls from other offices rather than use the phone in his office, and he is accompanied, even at E.P.A. headquarters, by armed guards, the first head of the agency to ever request round-the-clock security.”
“The Trump administration is debating whether to launch a governmentwide effort to question the science of climate change, an effort that critics say is an attempt to undermine the long-established consensus human activity is fueling the Earth’s rising temperatures,” the Washington Post reports.
“The move, driven by Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt, has sparked a debate among top Trump administration officials over whether to pursue such a strategy.”
“Energy Secretary Rick Perry, who once described the science behind human-caused climate change as a ‘contrived phony mess,’ also is involved in the effort.”
New York Times: “Pruitt has moved to undo, delay or otherwise block more than 30 environmental rules, a regulatory rollback larger in scope than any other over so short a time in the agency’s 47-year history.”
“Employees of the Environmental Protection Agency have been calling their senators to urge them to vote on Friday against the confirmation of Scott Pruitt, President Trump’s contentious nominee to run the agency, a remarkable display of activism and defiance that presages turbulent times ahead for the EPA,” the New York Times reports.
“Many of the scientists, environmental lawyers and policy experts who work in E.P.A. offices around the country say the calls are a last resort for workers who fear a nominee selected to run an agency he has made a career out of fighting — by a president who has vowed to ‘get rid of’ it.”
Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) told Maine Public Radio that she will oppose the confirmation of Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt (R) to lead the Environmental Protection Agency.
“Senate Democrats boycotted a committee vote on President Trump’s pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, preventing the GOP from moving his confirmation forward,” The Hill reports.
“None of the Democrats on the Environment and Public Works panel, led by Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE), went into the meeting room, depriving the committee of the two minority party members it requires for a quorum to vote on Scott Pruitt.”
Democrats tried to same tactic with the Senate Finance Committee, forcing the GOP to suspend the rules to allow a vote.
Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt (R) sent a letter to public school superintendents across the state vowing to defend religious freedom amid “veiled legal threats” over the distribution of Bibles on campus, Tulsa World reports.
Said Pruitt: “It is a challenging time in our country for those who believe in religious liberty. Our religious freedoms are under constant attack from a variety of groups who seek to undermine our constitutional rights and threaten our founding principles.”