The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works voted this morning to recommend confirmation of Scott Pruitt to be EPA Administrator. The vote had been scheduled to take place yesterday, but Committee Democrats boycotted the meeting, preventing a quorum for a vote. The Democrats boycotted the meeting again today, but the Republicans then voted to suspend the Committee’s quorum rules requiring at least two members of the minority party present for a vote. The suspension cleared the way for the Committee to approve Pruitt without any Democrats present.
The back-and-forth mirrored events in the Senate Finance Committee, where Democrats boycotted votes on Steven Mnuchin to be Treasury Secretary and for Tom Price to be the Secretary for Health and Human Services. The Treasury Committee then suspended its rules and voted to recommend both nominees without any Democrats present.
It is uncertain at this time when a floor vote will be scheduled to confirm Pruitt, probably next week.