Greens fume over Trump’s Interior Secretary ‘pick’

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has reportedly found a replacement for Sally Jewel, who’s served as the Department of Interior Secretary under the Obama administration.

According to various – unconfirmed – reports, Trump has lined up Cathy McMorris Rodgers, the U.S. Representative for Washington’s fifth congressional district, for the position.

The news of McMorris Rodgers being touted for the position in which, if appointed, she will manage federal land and natural resources, has made the environmental groups cringe.

Namely, McMorris Rodgers is seen as a climate change skeptic, who will promote drilling for oil and gas, and coal extraction, and could work on reversing Obama’s steps to put vast areas off limits for oil and gas exploration.

Drew Caputo, Vice President of Litigation for Lands, Oceans, and Wildlife at Earthjustice, an evironmentalist group, said Americans should be deeply concerned by the nomination of Rep. Cathy McMorris, adding that she has „a troubling track record of actively undermining our environment.“

“Congresswoman McMorris Rodgers’s environmental record is frankly terrible. She has repeatedly voted against the environment and in favor of special interests who want to use public lands and resources for private gain.

“She has… voted against restricting taxpayer hand-outs to companies that profit from oil and gas extracted from federal public lands.”

See you in court

 

Caputo added:”Her congressional voting record shows lots of evidence that McMorris Rodgers will serve the interests of corporations that seek to plunder resources from public lands, rather than acting on behalf of all Americans to safeguard our wild lands and natural treasures. President-elect Trump should retract this announcement, or the Senate should reject this nomination. If not, and if McMorris Rodgers attempts to carry out her anti-environment agenda, Earthjustice and its attorneys will see her in court.”

Billionaire climate activist Tom Steyer is also against McMorris Rodgers managing federal lands and resources.

He said: “She will open our public lands and natural resources to Big Oil and Big Coal, and put our parks, wilderness and endangered species at risk. We cannot allow that to happen. We will dig in and fight harder than ever to ensure that Trump and Rep. McMorris Rodgers cannot advance their dangerous policies — and we must start by demanding the Senate defeat this nomination.”

 

EPA pick slammed too

 

Both Steyer and Earthjustice have both already slammed Trump’s pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency.

Trump has nominated Attorney General Scott Pruitt from Oklahoma, whom Earthjustice has described as a climate-change denier, “who has made a career of being a vocal defender for polluters to head our Environmental Protection Agency.”

Steyer said Pruitt had a record of putting corporate polluters’ profits “ahead of our health.”

He’s called the Senate to “on the right side of history and fight for our families by defeating this nomination.”

Also, if proven true, neither Steyer nor Earthjustice will appreciate the President-elect’s potential nominee for the Secretary’ of State.

Word is that Rex Tillerson, CEO of oil giant ExxonMobil, has emerged as Trump’s leading candidate for U.S. secretary of state over 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney and three other people.

“Whether I choose him or not for “State”- Rex Tillerson, the Chairman & CEO of ExxonMobil, is a world class player and dealmaker. Stay tuned!,” Trump tweeted on Sunday.

Offshore Energy Today Staff