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Report: White House Withdraws Trump’s Pick for Environmental Council

Kathleen Hartnett White was renominated after failing to win over lawmakers with a disastrous confirmation hearing last year.

The White House has decided to withdraw its nominee to lead the Council on Environmental Quality, The Washington Post reports, citing three administration officials. Kathleen Hartnett White, an outspoken fossil-fuel advocate fond of conspiracy theories, failed to gain approval even from some Senate Republicans, one official told the Post. A White House official reportedly confirmed late Saturday that Hartnett White herself withdrew from consideration for the post, though no further details were provided. President Trump renominated Hartnett White in early January after a disastrous confirmation hearing last year prompted the Senate to reject her nomination. During the confirmation hearing, Hartnett White struggled to answer basic questions about science and was accused of plagiarizing some of her written responses. She faced a backlash from lawmakers who called her testimony “embarrassing,” while hundreds of scientists also came out firmly against her nomination, warning the Senate her views on climate change were “dangerous.”