Ed Markey: “Scott Pruitt is the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. He is charged with running the Agency and…”

“Scott Pruitt is the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. He is charged with running the Agency and ensuring its mission. There are serious questions about Mr. Pruitt's leadership, but we will get to that later. Today, the Senate is preparing to vote on the nominee to be the second highest ranking official at the Environmental Protection Agency--Andrew Wheeler. As the No. 2 at the Environmental Protection Agency, Andrew Wheeler deserves the kind of scrutiny that reflects a position one step away from Administrator. Andrew Wheeler has spent years protecting the coal industry--first from here in the Senate, where he worked to prevent passage of climate legislation, and then as a lobbyist for Murray Energy, one of the largest coal companies in America, which has led the fight by the coal industry to undo the progress we have made on climate policy. Andrew Wheeler's coal credentials are without equal. He is without question a member of the coal industry's hall of fame. He was even present in March of last year at the meeting where Murray Energy CEO Bob Murray presented Energy Secretary Rick Perry with the now-infamous secret plan to save the coal industry. Sadly, I am concerned that Andrew Wheeler's background means that he will never understand that saving coal is not the Environmental Protection Agency's job.…”