Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt answered questions about regulatory overreach and his support of renewable fuels during his Senate confirmation hearing Wednesday to serve as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under President-elect Donald Trump.

Senator Deb Fischer (R-NE), a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, first asked Pruitt about making sure the agency is “open, transparent, and answerable for its actions”{ and what he would do “to provide relief from an onslaught of EPA rules.”

Pruitt, who as Oklahoma AG has participated in a lawsuits against EPA over WOTUS, expressed his concerns about “regulation through litigation where groups initiate litigation against the EPA, the United States government, and set environmental policy through something called a sue and settle process.”

“Balancing the environmental objectives we have, but also the economic harm that results and the Supreme Court has spoken about that rather consistently of late. I would seek to lead the EPA in such a way to ensure that openness and transparency,” he added.

Pruitt also expressed his commitment to uphold the congressional intent of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). “To honor the intent and the expression of the renewable fuel standards statute is very, very important,” Pruitt said. “It’s not the job of the administrator or the EPA to do anything other than administer the program according to the intent of Congress. And I commit to you to do so.”

Listen to Fischer’s questioning of Pruitt here: Pruitt confirmation hearing with Sen. Fischer