https://theintercept.com/2017/02/17/after-advancing-scott-pruitt-confirmation-senator-heads-right-over-to-energy-lobbyist-fundraiser/
"JUST MOMENTS AFTER leading the floor debate on Thursday in support of Scott Pruitt’s nomination to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., left the Senate chamber to attend a high-dollar fundraiser hosted by energy lobbyists at a Capitol Hill steakhouse. The Senate voted 54-46 around 11:15 a.m. to invoke cloture, a mechanism that limits debate and allow an up-or-down confirmation vote Friday at 1 p.m. Barrasso, who has worked to shepherd Pruitt through the confirmation process, gave a brief floor statement, then left the chamber to relax with influence peddlers at Charlie Palmer Steak. The event, which asked for checks as high as $5,000 to Barrasso’s campaign committee, was hosted by lobbyists for energy firms that have cheered Pruitt’s battles with regulators. As the Oklahoma attorney general, Pruitt worked closely with energy lobbyists to file lawsuits against a wide range of environmental regulations. Pruitt challenged EPA rules on fracking, controls on pollution from power plants, limits on mercury emissions, and enhancing clean water regulations. Several of Pruitt’s lawsuits and letters to regulators, a New York Times investigation found, were drafted with language provided to him by industry lobbyists."
