Trump EPA pick Pruitt is a homerun

In an opinion piece written for The New York Times, former Environmental Protection Agency cubicle dweller, radical environmentalist and believer in man-caused “global warming” Eric Schaeffer had this to say about Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, Donald Trump’s pick to head the EPA:

Attorney General Scott Pruitt of Oklahoma has built his career suing the agency he would oversee to roll back its protection of the nation’s air and water, and challenging the very idea of federal action to control pollution.

At the same time, while Mr. Pruitt preaches the gospel of states’ rights…

What a ringing endorsement!

I have been critical of some of Trump’s policies and actions since he won the election, most recently when I pointed out the many ties some of his staffers and cabinet picks have to Goldman Sachs. But this pick is a homerun.

The EPA, an unconstitutional agency in an unconstitutional government, long ago exceeded its powers and began crafting legislation under the guise of regulation – a duty restricted to congress in the Constitution — and enforcing its edicts with police power. In fact, according to a report from 2015, the EPA spent $715 million from 2000 to 2014 on “criminal enforcement” of the clean air and water laws, a figure that includes a squad of some 200 “special agents” that, armed with military-style weapons and clad in body armor, conduct SWAT-style raids on homes and businesses.

Enforcement purchases included:

… body armor, camouflage and deceptive equipment, unmanned aircraft, night vision, radar equipment, tactical sets, kits, and outfits, transport vehicles passenger and troop, and $6.6 million in joint “policing” projects with Homeland Security. EPA also purchased shotgun ammunition, Bushmaster rifles, mobile GPS units, puncture-protective gloves, amphibious assault ships, and much more.

The EPA also spent $170 million on public relations and $1.2 billion on in-house lawyers, probably making it the largest law firm in America.

The EPA is an out-of-control, overbearing, burdensome, job-killing, business-shuttering boondoggle that needs to be destroyed root and branch. The states are plenty capable of – and  have been granted the authority in the Constitution for – ensuring clean air and water themselves.

It’s doubtful the EPA will be shuttered under Pruitt. But if its overreach is rolled back and enforcement returned to the states it will be great blow struck for liberty and property rights.

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