Agricultural interests are voicing support for Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, who has been chosen by President-Elect Donald Trump to be his administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as the pre-confirmation process begins with members of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works meeting privately with the nominee.

Senator Deb Fischer (R-NE), who has challenged the EPA’s authority as implementation of rules impacted agriculture in her state adversely, met with Pruitt this week to question him about how he would run the agency. “My discussion with Mr. Pruitt focused on how he intends to unroll these reams of federal red tape and put the agency back on the right track,” said Fischer.

The American Farm Bureau Federation has formally endorsed Pruitt in a letter to the leadership of the committee that will hold confirmation hearings in the coming weeks. In the letter, AFBF president Zippy Duvall called Pruitt “an ideal nominee” who “has profound respect for the laws written by Congress.”

“We desperately need an administrator who understands the challenges our farmers and ranchers face in producing safe, wholesome and affordable food for our nation and the world,” Duvall said.