Kathleen Warnock is a playwright, editor, and journalist. This is a repost of a series she is researching and posting on Facebook.
“Follow the Money.”
Doug Ericksen, who is spokesman for the “beachhead team” at the EPA told officials that all the editorial parts of the EPA’s website are under review. (WaPo reports this)
Ericksen, who was deputy director of Trump’s campaign in Washington State is currently a state senator, and says he does not intend to resign his seat.
Following the resignation of another Republican state senator (the director of Trump’s Washington campaign, who was appointed to a job in the Agriculture Dept), the state senate currently has 24 Democrat and 24 Republican members. (Another GOP Senator is also rumored to be in the running for a federal appointment.)
The Bellingham (WA) Herald reports: “Ericksen has been criticized by environmentalists for being a skeptic of human-caused climate change during his tenure in the state Senate. Last week he responded to someone in a comment thread on his public Facebook page, writing that “much of the climate alarmist rhetoric is extreme and could be considered a hoax presented by these groups.”
One group of students went so far in May 2015 as to ask Western Washington University to revoke Ericksen’s master’s degree in political science and environmental policy. The university president declined and thanked Ericksen for being a friend to the university.”
The invaluable Herald also notes that in the race where he won his Senate seat, “Some of Ericksen’s biggest donors included insurance and pharmaceutical companies, railroads, cable and internet providers, and oil, propane and coal companies.” (And the NRA Political Victory Fund.)
Takeaway: Climate change-denier and Trump fundraiser whose political career is powered by contributions from large corporations, including energy companies, is now leading the transition at the EPA.
Second takeaway: Dems have a shot at taking over the state senate in Washington State.