Former California Gov Arnold Schwarzenegger says that Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt is the “wrong person” for the job.
Mr Schwarzenegger made the comment during a speech in Sacramento, where he was receiving an award from the state Air Resources Board.
“He is, without any doubt, the wrong person at that place,” Mr Schwarzenegger said.
Mr Schwarzenegger, a Republican, has been a vocal critic of the administration of President Donald Trump, and has challenged his campaign and presidency frequently.
It’s the latest challenge to Mr Pruitt and his leadership role at the EPA. Just days ago, Mr Pruitt’s oversight of the review process for the potential repeal of the Clean Power Plan (CPP), which seeks to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, was challenged by a group of Democratic senators who demanded his recusal from the matter.
Citing the 14 times that Mr Pruitt sued the EPA while serving as attorney general of Oklahoma, and his financial ties to the fossil fuels industry — which opposes the CPP — the senators said that Mr Pruitt is unable to conduct his duties effectively during the review.
“The evidence for Pruitt’s inalterably closed mind on CPP rule making is overwhelming,” Senators Sheldon Whitehouse, Jeff Merkley, Brian Schatz, and Ed Markey wrote in a comment on the EPA’s proposed rule making.
Mr Pruitt was scheduled to meet with the President later Friday afternoon.
The EPA administrator received hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign donations while running for offices in Oklahoma before joining the Trump administration. That includes a spike in donations while he was running for his former attorney general seat, which he used to assault EPA policies championed by the administration of former President Barack Obama.
Since taking office, Mr Trump and his EPA have conducted what has been seen as an all out assault on Mr Obama’s climate and environment policies, including the challenge to the CPP and other measures.
