Trump’s Failed Toxics Nominee to Depart EPA

WASHINGTON – Michael Dourson, who withdrew his nomination to head the chemical safety office at the Environmental Protection Agency after it was clear the Senate would not confirm him, will soon leave the agency where he has served as a senior advisor to Administrator Scott Pruitt, reported Politico.

President Trump nominated Dourson, who has a long record of working for the chemical industry to weaken regulations, to be EPA’s assistant administrator for toxic substances. Even before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee held a vote on the nomination, Pruitt installed him as a senior advisor, a job that did not require confirmation. After two key Republican senators said they could not support him, he withdrew his nomination but kept his advisor job. Politico said Dourson will leave EPA by the end of January.

“With Dourson’s departure, the public finally gets some good news out of Scott Pruitt’s EPA,” said EWG President Ken Cook. “Someone with Dourson’s track record of pushing for dramatically weaker safety standards for chemicals linked to cancer, brain damage and reproductive harm should never have been let in the door at EPA.”

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Photo courtesy of Fred Watkins

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