Lankford Expects Noisy Confirmation Hearing for Pruitt but Predicts He’ll be Confirmed to Run the EPA

senLankford

A prediction from Oklahoma U.S. Sen. James Lankford—-Scott Pruitt will be confirmed as the new Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

“I do think he’ll be confirmed,” said Lankford in an interview with OK Energy today’s Jerry Bohnen.  “I do think it’ll be noisy. I think it’ll be contentious but I do think that he will be confirmed. This is a product of the nuclear option.”

Thanks to former U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, Democrats used their power in 2013 to eliminate the requirement of a supermajority of 60 votes to override a rule or end filibusters. Now only a simple majority of 51 votes is needed. It’s called the Nuclear Option or also the Constitutional Option. It was November 2013 when Senate Democrats used the option to eliminate filibusters on executive branch nominations and federal judicial appointments with the exception of those to the U.S. Supreme Court.

“I assume our Democrat colleagues will make this a very contentious event because Scott Pruitt dares to do one thing—-follow the law as it was actually written, not as they wished it was written.”

Senator Lankford will also be the Oklahoman to introduce Pruitt when he goes before the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.

Listen to Jerry Bohnen’s interview of Sen. Lankford as they discussed Scott Pruitt’s confirmation hearing.