WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-WY), chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW), issued the following statement on the confirmation process of Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, President Trump’s nominee to lead the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

“Attorney General Pruitt has had a very thorough confirmation process,” said Barrasso. “At his nomination hearing, Mr. Pruitt answered significantly more questions than any past EPA administrator has. He has been comprehensively vetted and has demonstrated his qualifications to lead the EPA.”  

What They Are Saying: 

On the Amount of Time for Questions during the Hearing:

“I appreciate the way you’ve conduced this hearing today. I appreciate all the members coming and coming back again and again.”

(Ranking Member Tom Carper [D-DE] to Chairman Barrasso, Hearing, Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, January 18, 2017)

 

“First of all, to you, sir, this is my first time going through nomination hearings. You have been very generous with the way you have been conducting these hearings. I think it is important that we note that, and I appreciate the number of rounds that you are doing.”

(Senator Cory Booker [D-NJ] to Chairman Barrasso, Hearing, Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, January 18, 2017)

 

“I think that you have been fair.”

(Senator Sheldon Whitehouse [D-RI] to Chairman Barrasso, Hearing, Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, January 18, 2017)

 

“Mr. Chairman, I think you’ve been exceedingly fair, particularly relative to the confirmation of Gina McCarthy… But relative to any other EPA Administrator hearing, you’ve been very generous, very fair.”

(Senator Dan Sullivan [R-AK] to Chairman Barrasso, Hearing, Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, January 18, 2017)

 

“I just want to repeat, I do think what Senator Sullivan said, you have been very, very generous, it is true.”

(Senator Cory Booker [D-NJ] to Chairman Barrasso, Hearing, Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, January 18, 2017)

 

Total Number of Questions Asked During the Hearing:

 

  • Attorney General Pruitt’s confirmation hearing was the most thorough on record. The committee held three rounds of questioning for five minutes each, followed by a fourth round for three minutes each.

 

  • Mr. Pruitt was asked at least 206 total questions during the hearing, significantly more than EPA administrators for past incoming presidential administrations.

 

  • Administrator Carol Browner, who was nominated by President Bill Clinton, was asked at least 105 questions.

 

  • Administrator Christine Todd Whitman, who was nominated by President George W. Bush, was asked at least 64 questions.

 

  • Administrator Lisa Jackson, who was nominated by President Barack Obama, was asked at least 69 questions.   

 

  • This is the most total questions asked of an EPA nominee on record.

 

Confirmation Precedent:

  • EPA administrator nominees for the incoming Clinton, Bush, and Obama administrations all received confirmation hearings before the inauguration.

 

  • All were confirmed by the full Senate by the end of January.

 

  • Administrator Carol Browner was confirmed on January 21, 1993.

 

  • Administrator Christine Todd Whitman was confirmed on January 30, 2001.

  • Administrator Lisa Jackson was confirmed on January 22, 2009.