February, 05 2018, 11:15am EDT
Hartnett White's Withdrawal as CEQ Nominee the Right Outcome for Science, Health
Statement by Kathleen Rest, Executive Director, Union of Concerned Scientists
WASHINGTON
Kathleen Hartnett White, the Trump administration's nominee to head the Council on Environmental Quality, has withdrawn her name from consideration for the post. That's good news for public health and safety, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS).
Below is a statement by Kathleen Rest, executive director of UCS.
"Kathleen Hartnett White was the absolute wrong choice to lead the Council on Environmental Quality. Her record made it clear that she did not accept basic scientific facts, put industry interests above the public and would not carry out the mission of CEQ.
"While this is the right outcome, it didn't happen in a vacuum. Thousands of people across the country spoke out against Hartnett White's confirmation--including hundreds of scientists and scholars who wrote a letter calling on their senators to oppose this nomination.
"Though Hartnett-White's withdrawal is a positive step, we have to stay vigilant. The Trump administration has appointed conflicted and unqualified individuals to vital scientific posts and has made it clear that they are more than willing to sideline the science that underpins policies that protect public health and the environment. The scientific community will continue to speak out about abuses of science and oppose efforts to sideline science in decision-making."
The Union of Concerned Scientists is the leading science-based nonprofit working for a healthy environment and a safer world. UCS combines independent scientific research and citizen action to develop innovative, practical solutions and to secure responsible changes in government policy, corporate practices, and consumer choices.
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According to a White House fact sheet, those who received commutations "have been serving their sentences at home for at least one year under the Covid-era CARES Act," a law that extended the amount of time in which people could be placed in home confinement to reduce the spread of the virus in prisons.
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The Biden Justice Department paused federal executions in 2021, but President-elect Donald Trump pledged on the campaign trail to expand the use of the death penalty and is expected to allow the executions of the 40 men on death row to take place if they're still there when he takes office next month.
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