Susan Collins says she won't vote for Trump's EPA pick
Sen. Susan Collins of Maine on Wednesday became the first Republican to say she will not vote to confirm President Trump's nominee to head the Environmental Protection Agency, Scott Pruitt, the Oklahoma attorney general who sued the EPA 14 times while former President Barack Obama was in office.
"I have significant concerns that Mr. Pruitt has actively opposed and sued the EPA on numerous issues that are of great importance to the state of Maine, including mercury controls for coal-fired power plants and efforts to reduce cross-state air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions," Collins said in a statement. "His actions leave me with considerable doubts about whether his vision for the EPA is consistent with the agency's critical mission to protect human health and the environment."
Out of every case that made it to a final decision, Pruitt only won once, The Hill reports. The confirmation vote could come as soon as Friday, and with none of the 51 other GOP senators standing with Collins and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) saying Pruitt has "the right experience for the position," it's likely he will be confirmed.
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Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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