President-elect Donald Trump nominated Scott Pruitt to head the Environmental
Protection Agency. He is the attorney general of the oil and gas-intensive
state of Oklahoma, who spent much of the past year fighting the very agency he
is being nominated to lead.
Trump's transition team announced the nomination in a news release Thursday,
calling Pruitt 'an expert in Constitutional law' and saying he brings a deep understanding
of the impact of regulations on both the environment and the economy.
"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," Trump said. "Pruitt will reverse this
trend and restore the EPA's essential mission of keeping our air and our water
clean and safe."
Pruitt says American people are 'tired of seeing billions of dollars drained
from our economy due to unnecessary EPA regulations' and says he intends to run
the EPA in a way that fosters both responsible protection of the environment
and freedom for American businesses.