The White House plans to withdraw its controversial nomination of Kathleen Hartnett-White to lead the Council on Environmental Quality, HuffPost has confirmed.
Hartnett-White, a former Texas regulator, eked through the confirmation process last year with only Republican votes despite radical views on issues like climate change and a humiliating public hearing at which she struggled with basic science questions. Democrats sent her nomination back to the White House in December as part of a deal with the Republican majority to close out the legislative session. But President Donald Trump re-nominated her early last month.
But on Saturday, The Washington Post reported the administration’s plan to pull the nomination after it ”failed to gather momentum even as some of the administration’s other senior environmental policy picks had won approval, with some Senate Republicans raising questions about her expertise.”
The White House confirmed the plans to HuffPost.
Democrats and environmentalists, who vehemently opposed her nomination, hailed victory late Saturday.
