Ex-EPA head Scott Pruitt to run for US Senate in Oklahoma

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The scandal-ridden former head of the Environmental Protection Agency, Scott Pruitt, has filed to run for an open U.S. Senate seat in Oklahoma. Pruitt filed paperwork on Friday to seek the seat being vacated by longtime Republican U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe.

Pruitt is a former state senator and Oklahoma attorney general tapped by the previous White House administration to head the EPA. He resigned from that post in 2018 amid a wave of ethics scandals, including living in a bargain-priced Capitol Hill condo tied to an energy lobbyist.

Pruitt was a staunch advocate for the continued use of coal and other fossil fuels while often downplaying the potential risks from climate change.