Democratic leader presses EPA nominee

Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE) sharply questioned Scott Pruitt, the nominee to lead the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, during a recent hearing in Washington, D.C.

Carper, the most senior Democrat on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, described Pruitt's environmental record as "deeply troubling." Pruitt is currently the attorney general of Oklahoma.

Carper said Pruitt has attempted to block protections that are currently in place to guarantee that all states participate in efforts to maintain clean air. He told Pruitt that almost all of the air pollution in his home state of Delaware comes from power plants in other states.

“As governor of Delaware, even if I had eliminated every source of air pollution within our state by stopping every combustion source and ordering every motor vehicle off of our roads, Delawareans still would have faced deadly doses of air pollution,” Carper said. “Should children and others in Delaware really be forced to live with the consequences of decisions made by polluters hundreds – or even thousands – of miles from us? I don’t think so.”

Carper also questioned Pruitt's dedication to dealing with harmful emissions and air pollutants, particularly ones from power plants that impact neighboring states’ air quality.