WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., a member of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, today voted to confirm Scott Pruitt as the next Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator.

In a speech delivered to the Senate in support of Mr. Pruitt’s nomination, Wicker said: “The Scott Pruitt that I have had the chance to learn about took on polluters in his state of Oklahoma, and finalized multi-state agreements to limit pollution, and he did so working across the political spectrum. When EPA overstepped its bounds and its mission and ceased to follow the law, he challenged the agency. That is exactly the sort of balance we need.”

“The American people are ready for a change at EPA,” Wicker continued. “We need an EPA Administrator who will listen to the environmentalists, but also listen to the job creators. This means listening to the election, but moving past the election, and getting on to filling the positions that are important to Americans.”

Throughout the confirmation process, Pruitt has answered over 1,200 questions – more than any EPA administrator of an incoming administration. His confirmation hearing was the most thorough confirmation hearing on record. Nominees for EPA Administrator during the incoming Clinton, Bush, and Obama administrations received a confirmation hearing prior to Inauguration Day and were confirmed by the full Senate before the end of January.