The Senate Friday confirmed Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt as the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. He was confirmed with a 52 – 46 vote.
It was Thursday when the Senate voted to invoke cloture which put Pruitt’s confirmation on the clock. Senators debated for and against his confirmation, with Democrats asking for a delay until next week.
However, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell refused the delay sending Pruitt’s confirmation to a vote.
Republican Senator Susan Collins followed through with her threat to vote against Pruitt. However, North Dakota Democrat Senator Heidi Heitkamp and West Virigina Democrat Senator Joe Manchin crossed party lines and voted for his confirmation.
Oklahoma Senators Jim Inhofe and James Lankford threw their support behind Pruitt.
Thank goodness. I know federal bureaucrats are masters of passive-aggressive behavior, but I am confident that Scott Pruitt will bring the EPA closer to the real world than it has been in many years.