Conservative groups thanked outgoing Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt Thursday for rolling back scores of environmental regulations before resigning office less than two years before taking the role.
Several conservatives praised Pruitt for acting quickly to nix as many regulations as he could in such a short period of time. President Donald Trump accepted the embattled agency chief’s resignation after several months of non-stop media reports about Pruitt’s flight travels and spending.
“We are particularly pleased with Pruitt’s leadership getting the United States out of the Paris Climate Treaty, rolling back climate rules like the so-called Clean Power Plan, replacing the Waters of the United States rule, and establishing new science transparency rules,” Myron Ebell, an analyst with the Competitive Enterprise Institute, said in a press statement shortly after Pruitt resigned.
The new acting EPA chief, Andrew Wheeler, will continue with Trump’s climate agenda, said Ebell, who headed Trump’s EPA transition team and frequently criticized the president for not moving fast enough against regulations. Wheeler was Pruitt’s assistant but will stay on until the president finds a permanent replacement.
Other conservatives who have largely cheered on Pruitt made similar comments. (RELATED: Scott Pruitt Resigns; Trump: ‘Scott Has Done An Outstanding Job’)
“My comment on Scott Pruitt resignation from EPA: 1. Same President. 2. Same agenda. 3. New EPA chief (a past colleague of mine). 4. So… WINNING!!!” Steve Milloy, a lawyer and frequent critic of Obama-era climate rules, wrote in a tweet Thursday. Milloy is a policy adviser for the Heartland Institute, a free-market think tank in Washington, D.C., that holds a skeptical position on global warming.
My comment on Scott Pruitt resignation from EPA:
1. Same President.
2. Same agenda (MAGA).
3. New EPA chief (a past colleague of mine).
4. So… WINNING!!! pic.twitter.com/N5Qv9npkGV
— Steve Milloy (@JunkScience) July 5, 2018
Republican Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming also came out in support of Pruitt’s record of reeling back a slew of former President Barack Obama’s climate regulations.
“Under President Trump, the EPA has returned to its original mission of protecting America’s air, water, and land,” Barrasso said before acknowledging the reports swirling around Pruitt. “During Administrator Pruitt’s tenure, the agency has rolled back punishing regulations that were hurting American workers and stifling our economy.”
Others were more effusive with their praise.
“Pruitt will go down as the best EPA chief in history,” Marc Morano, a former Republican aide who now runs the website ClimateDepot.com, said in a statement on his website.
“Scott Pruitt was the key man urging Trump to get out of the UN Paris climate pact and was very strong on reversing Obama’s climate and energy mandates,” he added. “Given past GOP presidents’ EPA chiefs, this was the single greatest accomplishment of any EPA chief in history!”
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