Trump environmental pick once claimed Texas would be better off if the state seceded to avoid regulations: report

According to a report by CNN, President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the White House Council on Environmental Quality once pitched the idea that Texas would be “better off” as an independent republic.

The report states that Kathleen Hartnett White wrote an essay in 1995 that claimed the Lone Star state would be “better off” if it were free from federal regulations, including environmental restrictions.

White's essay was published in the now-defunct Texas Republic magazine commemorating the 150 year anniversary of Texas statehood, with White calling the anniversary, "not a happy occasion."

The report states: "White's past writings on politics and policy, particularly as they relate to the federal government's role in regulating the environment, could be a subject to scrutiny during the Senate confirmation process. If confirmed, White would oversee environmental policy across the government. In her 1995 essay, White singled out 'onerous' environmental regulations such as the Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act as examples of federal overreach on states' rights."