WASHINGTON – A Senate committee on Thursday cleared Scott Pruitt to head the Environmental Protection Agency despite Democrats boycotting the vote for a second day.
Republicans on the Environment and Public Works Committee unanimously agreed to suspend the rules to allow for a vote without any Democrats present.
Committee chairman Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) called the Democrat boycott “disappointing.”
“We will not allow it to obstruct,” he added. “We had an election last November. The people spoke and now it is time to set up a functioning government and that includes a functioning EPA.”
It’s the second time this week GOP-led committees had to toss out the rules to respond to boycotting Democrats.
The Senate Finance Committee earlier circumvented the rules to approve Steven Mnuchin for Treasury Secretary and Tom Price for Health and Human Services Secretary. Rules required at least one Democrat be present for committee business, but Democrats failed to show up at the Finance Committee for two consecutive days.
Pruitt, the Oklahoma Attorney General and climate change skeptic, passed out of the committee with all 11 Republicans voting in support. His nomination now heads to the full Senate where he’s expected to secure the majority vote necessary to become EPA Administrator.
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