The Political Emergence to Power of Scott Pruitt, Chief of EPA

Scott Pruitt, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, was the headline speaker at the Conservative Political Action Conference’s annual showcase, known as the Ronald Reagan Dinner. This position has historically been given to rising powers and figures of the Republican party, signaling Mr. Pruitt’s emergence to power in the past year.

Mr. Pruitt has gained support from President Trump for his policies on environmental rules that won the favors of the far right, farmers and fossil fuel industry. His idea, such as “red team, blue team”, though very controversial, has received praises and approval from President Trump, who himself has been extremely controversial in his stances regarding environmental reforms and climate change. Mr. Pruitt has also been vocal towards criticizing his own agency, saying that the agency “was weaponized against certain sectors of the economy” at the Reagan dinner.

He has also leaned on Mr. Trump for furthering his political presence and future, as he has been considered a future candidate for senator of Oklahoma, his home state and the potential candidate for attorney general, if Jeff Sessions were to step down or be replaced. According to people close to Mr. Pruitt, it is even possible for him to run for presidency in 2024 or farther future, if his ambition allows.

The Environmental Protection Agency, long known as a more low-profile agency, would be an unusual leaping point for Mr. Pruitt’s political ambition and outlook to any positions that are significantly more political and high profile. While Mr. Pruitt’s national political presence has already increased tremendously in the past year, he has also been reprimanded for his rather extravagant spending on private airfares.

William K. Reilly, the head of EPA under President George Bush, has also commented on the extreme leap from this agency to other political posts. He remarked on how “it’s the kind of job that if you do it right, you can antagonize a lot of people – big industry, even you down president”. Mr. Pruitt’s policies, however, have been achieving the opposite by winning the hearts of fossil fuel industry and President Trump, making his job security more advantageous amongst the immense turmoil and turbulence in the White House.

The drastic policies Mr. Pruitt has proposed that undo many former regulations might need to face legal challenges in the future, though by the time those legalistic forces roll in, Mr. Pruitt could be past EPA already according to Christine Todd Whitman, who was the chief of EPA under George W. Bush. Mr. Pruitt has also been aiming to push back against the clean water rule, which restrict the use of chemical fertilizers of farmers established under the Obama Administration.

Moreover, Mr. Pruitt has impeded the progress of the climate change rules ordered by President Obama. The rules include the halt in construction of more coal-fired power plants. Mr. Pruitt described these rules as “regulatory assault” and has spoken about a potential replacement rule in the near future.

These regulations of protecting farmers against fertilizer use regulations and allow fossil fuel firms to loosen their release of global warming pollution, though against the larger movement of climate protection against green house gas and pollution, has the ability to win over Trump’s supporters, which are largely made of farmers or those residing in rural areas that depend on these industries.

Despite his projected political ambition, the staff working under Mr. Pruitt has emphasized on Mr. Pruitt’s focus and dedication to his job at the EPA itself. Mr. Pruitt’s time at EPA has been popular due to his proposals of loosening regulations on pollution, despite the scrutiny he has faced due to his extravagance. His political future remains under the spotlight and dependent on the President Trump’s sway.

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