Scott Pruitt

**Edward Scott Pruitt** (born May 9, 1968) is an American lawyer and Republican politician from the state of Oklahoma.  Scott was the 14th Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency from February 17, 2017 until his resignation on July 6, 2018. He was the Oklahoma Attorney General serving from 2011 through 2017. Pruitt was a State Senator, representing Tulsa and Wagoner counties from 1998 until 2006.

On December 7, 2016, President-elect Donald Trump selected Pruitt to be his nominee as the next Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. On February 17, 2017, the Senate confirmed Pruitt's nomination, by a vote of 52-46. While critics, such as Senator Bernie Sanders, described him as a climate change denier, he believes that the climate is changing and human activity is responsible to climate change.

Pruitt ran for the United States Senate in the 2022 special election to replace Senator Jim Inhofe.

## Early life

Pruitt was born in 1968 in Danville, Kentucky, but moved to Lexington, Kentucky when he was young. He studied at Georgetown College earning his Bachelor of Arts degree and at the University of Tulsa earning his Juris Doctor degree.

## Early political career

Pruitt represented Tulsa and Wagoner Counties in the Oklahoma Senate from 1998 until 2006. In 2006, Pruitt launched an unsuccessful campaign to receive the Republican nomination for Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma.

## Attorney General of Oklahoma (2011–2017)

In 2010 Pruitt was elected Attorney General of Oklahoma. In that role, he supported religious freedom laws and fought against abortion rights, same-sex marriage, the Affordable Care Act, and environmental regulations as a self-described "leading advocate against the EPA’s activist agenda".

On September 9, 2014, in _Pruitt v. Burwell_, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma ruled against the IRS.

On December 7, 2014, The New York Times published a front-page story highlighting that Pruitt had used his office's stationery to send form letters written by energy industry lobbyists to federal agencies during public comment.

In April 2015, Pruitt wrote a letter to school superintendents stating that schools can lawfully allow the dissemination of religious literature on campus.

In May 2016, Attorneys General Pruitt and Luther Strange authored an op-ed in the National Review criticizing other state attorneys general for "acting like George III" regarding the ExxonMobil climate change controversy, writing "global warming has inspired one of the major policy debates of our time. That debate is far from settled. Scientists continue to disagree about the degree and extent of global warming and its connection to the actions of mankind."

## Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (2017 – 2018)

On December 7, 2016, President-elect Donald Trump announced his plans to nominate Pruitt as the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. The nomination was reviewed during hearings held by the members of the Environment and Public Works Committee. He then passed to the full Senate for a vote. On February 17, 2017, the United States senate confirmed his nomination with a 52-46 vote. He was sworn-in the next day by Vice President Mike Pence.

During his tenure, Pruitt was accused of corruption for misusing the EPA's money for his personal gain. Many Senators and other politicians called for Pruitt's resignation.

Under fire since his appointment, Pruitt resigned on July 5, 2018, leaving Andrew R. Wheeler as the acting head of the agency.

## 2022 U.S. Senate election

In April 2022, Pruitt announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate in the special election to replace retiring Senator Jim Inhofe. He lost the Republican nomination in the first round of voting in June 2022.

## Personal life

Pruitt married Marlyn Pruitt in 1992. They have two children.

## Other websites

- Scott Pruitt campaign website

## Infobox (officeholder)

- **name**: Scott Pruitt
- **image**: Scott Pruitt, EPA official portrait (cropped).jpg
- **office**: 14th Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency
- **president**: Donald Trump
- **term start**: February 17, 2017
- **term end**: July 6, 2018
- **predecessor**: Gina McCarthy
- **successor**: Andrew R. Wheeler
- **office1**: 17th Attorney General of Oklahoma
- **governor1**: Mary Fallin
- **term start1**: January 10, 2011
- **term end1**: February 17, 2017
- **predecessor1**: Drew Edmondson
- **successor1**: Michael J. Hunter
- **birth name**: Edward Scott Pruitt
- **birth place**: Danville, Kentucky, U.S.
- **party**: Republican Party (United States), Republican
- **alma mater**: Georgetown College
University of Tulsa