WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) announced today he will vote against Janet McCabe’s nomination to be Deputy Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) when her nomination is considered in the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee this morning.

“During her time in the Obama Administration, Janet McCabe promised to listen to states, yet she was the architect of the disastrous and overreaching Clean Power Plan. North Dakotans expect the federal government to be a partner, not an adversary,” said Senator Cramer. “If she is ultimately confirmed, Mrs. McCabe should follow the attitude of collaboration and cooperation Mr. Regan has committed to as the head of the EPA.”

During the hearing on her nomination, Senator Cramer pushed Mrs. McCabe on the Clean Power Plan, which she called her “proudest accomplishment,” and highlighted the harm it would have caused North Dakota. Learn more here.

Senator Cramer will also oppose the nomination of Brenda Mallory to be Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ).

“Mrs. Mallory’s anti-pipeline past may fit in well at the White House, but further diminishing our energy infrastructure would only harm America’s energy security and increase foreign dependency. Pipelines carrying U.S. oil and gas represent the safest and cleanest way to transport energy, and if the goal is to actually lower carbon emissions and support jobs, the Biden Administration would support them,” said Senator Cramer. “Since it was built, the Dakota Access Pipeline has operated safely and passed every environmental regulatory hurdle put before it. But when I asked Mrs. Mallory if the White House would commit to not shutting down the pipeline for political reasons, she refused to give a direct answer.” 

The senator pressed Mrs. Mallory on her record on pipelines, specifically on the Dakota Access Pipeline, and did not receive sufficient answers during the hearing on her nomination. Learn more here.