Washington, D.C. — On Friday, the Senate is scheduled to vote on whether to confirm Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt as the next head of the Environmental Protection Agency.
This comes after an Oklahoma judge ruled Pruitt must turn over documents that detail Pruitt’s communication with natural gas, coal and oil companies.
NBC Philadelphia reports District Judge Aletia Haynes Timmons said “there really is no reasonable explanation” as to why Pruitt’s office has not yet complied with the request that filed in January 2015.
Judge Timmons ordered Pruitt to turn over the requested records by Tuesday.
Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is forcing the Senate to vote on Friday even though Pruitt’s correspondence won’t be released until Tuesday. “This is an egregious cover up that must not stand,” said Sen. Merkley.
In a press release, Sen. Merkley announced he and 29 other Democrats intend to hold the Senate floor for 30 hours in protest of Pruitt’s nomination.
Sen. Merkley is expected to personally hold the floor between 6:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. on Thursday.
Live footage of the Senate floor is available online at https://www.senate.gov/floor/.
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