Sen. Susan Collins of Maine became the first Republican to say she will not vote for President Trump’s pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt.
Pruitt’s nomination is expected to come to the Senate floor for a confirmation vote as early as Thursday.
“Specifically, 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 an interview with Maine public radio.
“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.”
Her opposition to Pruitt came just hours after Trump Labor Secretary nominee Andrew Puzder bowed out after facing intense opposition on Capitol Hill over his background and experience.
Environmental groups immediately used Puzder’s decision to call on Pruitt to do the same. Soon after that, Collins announced her decision.
“Puzder fully deserves to be sent packing, but he is just one of many among Trump’s Cabinet picks who are unfit for the job,” said Melinda Pierce, Sierra Club’s legislative director. “The Senate should now make it clear that Scott Pruitt, with his secretive alliances with polluters, his anti-science record, and his record of misleading the public, is equally unfit to serve.”
