Senate Continues To Confirm The President’s Well-Qualified, Talented Nominees
‘This Republican Senate is continuing its important work on behalf of the American people. We’re moving forward on legislative priorities that will benefit hardworking families throughout the country. We’re also continuing to confirm President Trump’s nominees throughout the federal government.’
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) made the following remarks on the Senate floor regarding the need to confirm more of the president’s nominees:
“This Republican Senate is continuing its important work on behalf of the American people. We’re moving forward on legislative priorities that will benefit hardworking families throughout the country. We’re also continuing to confirm President Trump’s nominees throughout the federal government. Last week, we continued our momentum with the confirmation of well-qualified and talented individuals to serve in the federal judiciary.
“This week, the Senate is considering multiple nominations to important agencies. Yesterday, we confirmed officials to the Department of Defense and to the Department of Justice. Soon, they’ll get to work for the American people. Next, the Senate will vote to confirm Peter Robb as the general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board. As I said yesterday, Mr. Robb’s experience in employment law will help return the NLRB to its role as an impartial arbiter of labor disputes, instead of a political cudgel for union bosses and left-wing special interests as it was under the Obama Administration.
“Then, we will turn to another qualified individual who will help undo some of the damage of the Obama Administration. William Wehrum, President Trump’s nominee to be the Assistant Administrator for the EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation, will put his experience to good use for our nation.
“The Office of Air and Radiation is one of the most important parts of the EPA — unfortunately, under the previous Administration, it was also one of the offices with the most significant overreach. This one office was responsible for 95 percent of the annual regulatory burdens that the EPA forced onto our economy, according to one report, reportedly costing the economy at least $41 billion.
“So this is an office in desperate need of new leadership from an individual who understands how to implement clean air policies in a balanced way — rather than with extreme regulatory overreach. Mr. Wehrum is the right person for the job. With more than three decades of experience in environmental policy, he understands the issues before the EPA and how to address them. He’s even worked in this office before, serving as Acting Administrator from 2005-2007.
“Mr. Wehrum has earned support from many different corners. His former boss at the EPA, Jeff Holmstead, said, ‘there is no better person,’ to fill this position. The EPA’s deputy administrator from 2005-2009, Marcus Peacock, said ‘Wehrum’s understanding of the Clean Air Act may be second to none.’
“And even the Natural Resources Defense Council – not exactly a right-wing organization – had this to say about this nominee’s previous experience at the EPA, noting that he ‘achieve[d] important air pollution reductions.’ ‘Wehrum, Holmstead, and the Bush EPA,’ the NRDC further wrote, ‘deserve credit for these substantial public health and air quality achievements.’
“Nominees like Mr. Wehrum will continue the work of this EPA to undo the damage of the Obama Administration’s overreach in a reasonable manner. For instance, Obama’s Office of Air and Radiation was responsible for the Administration’s dubious energy regulatory scheme, which threatened to punish coal families and ship middle-class jobs overseas. When Administrator Scott Pruitt came to Kentucky last month, he announced the official withdrawal of that rule.
“Unlike the previous leadership of the EPA, Administrator Pruitt actually cared enough to come to my home state and hear directly from the men and women impacted by the Agency’s regulations. He is someone who will work with us to protect our environment and save Kentucky families from harmful regulations. Mr. Wehrum will work with Administrator Pruitt to help continue this trend at the EPA. I look forward to the Senate advancing his nomination.”
Related Issues: Nominations, EPA, Labor
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