GOP Senator Will Vote No on Trump's 'Dangerous' EPA Pick

One Republican senator is breaking ranks to vote against President Trump's nominee to head the Environmental Protection Agency, who has sued the EPA 14 times. Maine's Susan Collins says she "has significant concerns" about issues affecting her state that Scott Pruitt has opposed the EPA on, "including mercury controls for coal-fired power plants and efforts to reduce cross-state air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions," the Hill reports. She says the Oklahoma attorney general's actions have left her with "considerable doubts about whether his vision for the EPA is consistent with the agency's critical mission to protect human health and the environment."

The Maine chapter of the Sierra Club praised Collins for "opposing this dangerous nomination that would be a threat to our clean air, clean water, and public health." Collins, who also voted against confirming Betsy DeVos, is the only Republican so far to come out against Pruitt, meaning he's likely to be confirmed in a Senate vote Friday. Reuters reports that Democrats have asked for a procedural vote on Pruitt scheduled for Thursday to be delayed until after an afternoon hearing in Oklahoma on whether to release emails between his office and execs at oil and gas firms. (Trump's nominee for labor secretary withdrew on Wednesday.)