Confirmation Vote for Pruitt "Must Be Postponed" Until Documents Are Released

“An Oklahoma judge just ordered Scott Pruitt to turn over thousands of documents about his relationships with the fossil fuel industry, finding there was ‘an abject failure to provide prompt and reasonable access to documents requested.’

“A rushed Senate vote to confirm Pruitt as EPA Administrator right now would be a travesty. During his confirmation hearing, Pruitt repeatedly referred Senators to open records requests instead of directly answering question. Now that a judge has ruled on one of those requests, Pruitt’s confirmation vote, which is scheduled for tomorrow afternoon, must be postponed until the documents can be examined.

“The documents in question are related to Pruitt’s fitness to serve as head of EPA. Senators should exercise due diligence when confirming nominees, and they can’t do that when they’ve been denied access to relevant information. We call on Senators to delay the confirmation vote on Scott Pruitt until they can properly do their job.

“U.S. Senators, and the American people, have a right to know who they’re confirming to an office that exists to protect their health and their environment.”

              - Elizabeth Thompson, president of EDF Action