In an interview with The New Republic, Tom Carper will fight against Scott Pruitt’s confirmation as EPA chief.
“Scott Pruitt’s views are so far out of the mainstream that confirming him as the head of the EPA would be a mistake,” Carper told The New Republic. To vet Pruitt’s extreme views, he and committee Chairman John Barrasso, a Republican from Wyoming, have discussed holding longer-than-usual hearings for the nominee—one to two days as opposed to the half-day that is customary for cabinet-level appointments. Carper is also planning on bringing in an outside expert panel to focus, in part, on mercury.
TNR goes on to say:
Pruitt has sued the EPA fourteen times, with at least eight active lawsuits against the agency, and has deep financial ties to fossil fuel companies that would win big if the suits were ruled in their favor. Democrats could frame a Senate vote for Pruitt as a vote for corrupt special interests and against science.