Liberals worry over Trump's EPA pick
President-elect Donald Trump filled four top White House positions on Wednesday, provoking particular outcry on the left over his appointment of Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, a climate change skeptic, to head the Environmental Protection Agency. "The EPA is gonna be run by the man who maybe hates the EPA the most in America," The Atlantic's Vann R. Newkirk II wrote. The Sierra Club said putting Pruitt in charge of the EPA was like "putting an arsonist in charge of fighting fires."
Outgoing Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid also criticized Trump's Cabinet: "We can go through the list of people he's already chosen and it's, quite frankly, scary," Reid told David Axelrod on The Axe Files podcast.
On Wednesday, Trump also picked co-founder and former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment Linda McMahon to head the Small Business Administration, Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad (R) to be the U.S. ambassador to China, and retired Marine Gen. John Kelly to be secretary of homeland security.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
-
Will the mystery of MH370 be solved?Today’s Big Question New search with underwater drones could finally locate wreckage of doomed airliner
-
The biggest astronomy stories of 2025In the spotlight From moons, to comets, to pop stars in orbit
-
Why are micro-resolutions more likely to stick?In the Spotlight These smaller, achievable goals could be the key to building lasting habits
-
Bari Weiss’ ‘60 Minutes’ scandal is about more than one reportIN THE SPOTLIGHT By blocking an approved segment on a controversial prison holding US deportees in El Salvador, the editor-in-chief of CBS News has become the main story
-
CBS pulls ‘60 Minutes’ report on Trump deporteesSpeed Read An investigation into the deportations of Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador’s notorious prison was scrapped
-
Trump administration posts sliver of Epstein filesSpeed Read Many of the Justice Department documents were heavily redacted, though new photos of both Donald Trump and Bill Clinton emerged
-
Trump HHS moves to end care for trans youthSpeed Read The administration is making sweeping proposals that would eliminate gender-affirming care for Americans under age 18
-
Jack Smith tells House of ‘proof’ of Trump’s crimesSpeed Read President Donald Trump ‘engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election,’ hoarded classified documents and ‘repeatedly tried to obstruct justice’
-
House GOP revolt forces vote on ACA subsidiesSpeed Read The new health care bill would lower some costs but not extend expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies
-
Hegseth rejects release of full boat strike footageSpeed Read There are calls to release video of the military killing two survivors of a Sept. 2 missile strike on an alleged drug trafficking boat
-
Trump vows naval blockade of most Venezuelan oilSpeed Read The announcement further escalates pressure on President Nicolás Maduro
