Despite the fact that Donald Trump's nominee for secretary of the interior is expected to glide through the confirmation process in the Senate relatively unscathed, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) did not hold back on grilling Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-Mont.) on Tuesday.
To begin, Sanders pressed Zinke on the issue of climate change; Zinke has historically wobbled on the topic, having both signed onto a letter asking President Obama for climate change legislation but also having claimed climate change is manmade. To Sanders, he stated that "the climate is changing" and "man is an influence," and distanced himself from Trump by adding firmly, "I don't believe it's a hoax."
But the extent to which man is affecting climate change is up for debate, Zinke added, pleading a lack of expertise because "I'm not a climate scientist," and claiming the issue is still up for debate in the scientific community.
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Sanders wasn't having it. While he admitted there might be debate in the Senate committee room, Sanders said, "there's not a debate among scientists."
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