I think what a lot of people don't understand is a lot of the lawsuits he brought are driven entirely by his constitutional views.” “It’s something that very much animates his thinking. “He is deeply committed to federalism in a proper sense of this word,” said David Rivkin, a constitutional litigator at BakerHostetler who represented Pruitt and Oklahoma on their lawsuit against the EPA's power sector emissions rule. But to allies and outside observers alike, Pruitt is potentially a major change agent.Ĭitrus crisis: As an iconic Florida crop fades, another tree rises
From Trump on down, the incoming administration is steeped in the view that the Obama EPA has overreached, and that a reset is in order. And they note that, whatever Pruitt’s ideology may be, important money for his political campaigns has come from the oil and gas industry.Įven as environmentalists urge the Senate to block Pruitt, the pendulum swing isn’t driven by him alone. They say Americans have benefited from a model of “cooperative federalism” that has taken root, with states and the EPA each playing important roles. Pruitt’s strict interpretation of the United States Constitution, and of the limits of federal authority, undergirds his track record of challenging major EPA regulations as unconstitutional power grabs, while serving as Oklahoma’s attorney general.īut his critics say those lawsuits – including a still-pending case on electricity emissions, President Obama's signature domestic climate policy – pose a grave risk to joint state-federal efforts to safeguard the environment and public health. State empowerment stands out like no other theme as a guiding light for Scott Pruitt, who faces a confirmation hearing today as President-elect Trump’s nominee to head the Environmental Protection Agency.
When new presidents come to the White House, the pendulum of federal environmental action tends to swing, and under Donald Trump it may take an unusually wide shift – seen especially in passing responsibility to the states.
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