GOP Senators Boycott Vote on 'Radical' EPA Nominee

On Thursday, all eight Republican Senators on the Environmental and Public Works Committee did not show up for a committee vote on the nomination of Gina McCarthy, President Barack Obama’s pick to head the Environmental Protection Agency.

The Hill noted the Republican senators boycotted the Committee vote because they felt McCarthy had not “adequately responded to their requests for information” on “how the EPA makes decisions on new regulations, how it has used private email to conduct public business, and other transparency issues.”

“We’re not asking to amend any bedrock environmental laws,” Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) said. “We’re asking for access to the scientific data and reasoning behind the justification for expensive new rules and regulations that continue to cause high unemployment.”

Democrats like Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) accused Republicans of obstructing the nomination of McCarthy, whom Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has called a “radical” and whose excessive regulations have cost Americans jobs.