Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen said he welcomes the resignation of Scott Pruitt, who headed up the federal Environmental Protection Agency.
“I’m glad to see Pruitt go,” Jepsen said. “I think that he had real ethical issues. But, the policies are not going to change.”
Pruitt resigned Wednesday. He’s been mired in ethical controversies, many based on spending—one criticism for example centers on first-class travel expenses.
Led by Jepsen, Connecticut is involved in several lawsuits that would defend policies aimed at curbing greenhouse emissions like the Clean Air Act and the Clean Power Plan.
But while Jepsen supports Pruitt’s resignation, he doesn’t believe it will end the Trump administration’s attacks on Obama-era environmental policies.
“Trump is kind of at war with the environment and I think going forward, he’s going to continue to pursue policies that are bad for Connecticut, bad for the air we breathe, [and] bad for the water we drink,” Jepsen said.
Andrew Wheeler will be the acting head of the EPA. In the past, Wheeler came out against the Clean Air Act because it didn’t support domestic production of fossil fuels.