NEW YORK – Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt will be Donald Trump's pick to serve as the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, a cabinet-level position.
“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. As my EPA Administrator, Scott Pruitt, the highly respected Attorney General from the state of Oklahoma, will reverse this trend and restore the EPA’s essential mission of keeping our air and our water clean and safe,” said President-elect Donald Trump. “My administration strongly believes in environmental protection, and Scott Pruitt will be a powerful advocate for that mission while promoting jobs, safety and opportunity."
“I am deeply grateful and honored to serve as President-elect Trump’s EPA Administrator,” said Mr. Pruitt. “The American people are tired of seeing billions of dollars drained from our economy due to unnecessary EPA regulations, and I intend to run this agency in a way that fosters both responsible protection of the environment and freedom for American businesses.”
Pruitt is to be involved in the implementation of President-elect Trump’s energy plan, which will move America toward energy independence, create millions of new jobs and protect clean air and water.
The campaign said in a press release that Pruitt "will ensure that we conserve our natural habitats, reserves and resources, while unleashing an energy revolution that will bring vast new wealth to our country." He agrees with Trump that "we must rescind all job-destroying executive actions and eliminate all barriers to responsible energy production."
That, the campaign says, will create at least a half million jobs each year and produce $30 billion in higher wages.
Mr. Pruitt has been a national leader against the EPA’s job-killing war on coal. As Oklahoma’s Attorney General, Pruitt established the state’s first “federalism unit” to combat unwarranted regulation and overreach by the federal government.
He also agrees with President-elect Trump that states should have the sovereignty to make many regulatory decisions for their own markets.
