In a mostly party line vote, on Friday, the Senate confirmed Scott Pruitt as the next Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) broke with Democrats and voted for Pruitt, while Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) was the lone Republican who voted against him. (Senators Joe Donnelly (D-IN) and John McCain (R-AZ) did not vote.) Pruitt's vote comes on the heels of wave of protest by EPA employees and the day after a District judge in Oklahoma ruled the state's attorney general's office has until Tuesday to turn over thousands of documents related to Scott Pruitt's communications with oil, gas and coal groups. Pruitt refused to release the emails for more than two years and despite their imminent release, Senate Republicans ignored calls for additional time to consider Pruitt and pushed the vote through. With Pruitt in place, the White House is expected to issue several Executive Orders in the next week related to EPA and environmental issues.

Also this week in nominations, Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-SC) was narrowly confirmed Thursday as the Director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, which has wide latitude to influence the budgets of and regulations made by all federal agencies. Trump's budget proposal will likely recommend slashing agency budgets, to "reduce the size of government" and to prevent agencies from making or carrying out regulations. With a lifetime score of 7 percent from the League of Conservation Voters, Mulvaney could quietly hamstring the EPA and other agencies with environmental regulatory authority.

This week, Trump signed legislation nullifying the Department of Interior's (DOI) Stream Protection Rule. The rule updated decades old regulation to improve the environmental responsibility of coal mining; it would have required testing and monitoring of the condition of affected streams and established a 100-foot buffer around streams to preserve native species. Next week, the Senate is expected to review another DOI rule that limits methane venting, flaring, and leaking from oil and gas operations on public lands. The House has already voted to undo it.

In the first several days of the administration, Trump signed executive action resurrecting the controversial Keystone XL pipeline, asking TransCanada, the company building it, to resubmit its application for a cross-border permit. On Thursday, TransCanada followed through and filed an application to complete construction for a pipeline route through Nebraska, the same one state regulators approved in 2013. The Nebraska Public Service Commission will now review the application, which may take up to a year. Last spring, the existing section of the Keystone XL pipeline leaked thousands of gallons of oil in South Dakota, raising concerns about the safety of the proposed section.

What you can do

  • Voice your concerns about the Keystone XL pipeline by commenting on TransCanada's application.
  • Call your Senators to oppose the use of the Congressional Review Act to rollback DOI's methane regulations.

What to ask your Members of Congress

  • What major environmental issues do you see in our district/state and what are you doing to advance these causes?
  • Accidental or unnecessary release of fossil fuels contributes to climate change, regardless of where methane leaks happen, and therefore affects our district/state. Do you support the use of the Congressional Review Act to rollback DOI's methane regulations?
  • Now that Scott Pruitt is Administrator of the EPA, what will you do to defend the agency?


- Energy and Environment Policy Working Group, RISE Stronger

Have comments or something to add? Contact the RISE Energy & Environment Policy Working Group at [email protected]