The Latest: EPA nominee says climate change is real

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Latest on Congress (all times EST):

12:14 p.m.

Donald Trump's choice to head the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says that climate change is real, breaking with both the president-elect and his own past statements.

Pressed by Democrats at his confirmation hearing on Wednesday, Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt said he disagreed with Trump's past statements that global warming is a hoax created by the Chinese to harm the economic competitiveness of the United States.

Pruitt has previously cast doubt on the extensive body of scientific evidence showing that the planet is warming and that man-made carbon emissions are to blame. In a 2016 opinion article, Pruitt suggested that the debate over global warming "is far from settled."

Pruitt's comments came less than an hour after federal scientists affirmed that 2016 was officially the hottest year in recorded history.

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12:09 p.m.

South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley says lawmakers shouldn't worry too much about Donald Trump's penchant for incendiary comments.

Haley, the president-elect's pick to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, is telling the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that what Trump says after he's sworn and huddles with his national security team will be what matters.

She sidestepped a question from Sen. Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat, who listed a number of Trump's more provocative remarks, including calling NATO obsolete and downplaying Moscow's meddling in America's 2016 election.

Haley says it is natural for there to be nervousness when a new administration comes into office.

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12:07 p.m.

Billionaire investor Wilbur Ross is echoing President-elect Donald Trump's tough talk about trade with China.

Ross says "It's a little weird that we have very low tariffs and China has very high tariffs."

Ross is appearing before a Senate committee holding a confirmation hearing on his nomination to lead the Commerce Department.

Lawmakers are asking Ross about the barriers facing American companies as they seek to export goods around the world. He says the first thing the U.S. has to do is deal with unfair barriers that other countries impose on U.S. industries

Ross says American ingenuity, management and labor can compete effectively if it's a fair fight. He says "in a lot of cases, it's not a fair fight."

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12:04 p.m.

Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt says he's willing to recuse himself from lawsuits he filed against the Environmental Protection Agency if confirmed by the Senate to head the EPA.

Pruitt has participated in at least 19 lawsuits against the agency in recent years, including eight cases that are pending. The lawsuits challenge EPA rules on smog, mercury emissions, coal-fired power plants and other issues.

Under questioning from Democratic Sen. Edward Markey of Massachusetts, Pruitt said he has "every willingness to recuse" himself if directed to do so on a case-by-case basis by EPA's ethics office.

Markey said that was not enough, adding that Pruitt should commit to a blanket recusal before his confirmation.

Markey said he worries that under Pruitt, EPA would come to stand for "Every Polluters' Ally."

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11:59 a.m.

Donald Trump's pick for U.N. ambassador says extrajudicial killings in the Philippines' war on drugs violate basic human rights.

At her Senate confirmation hearing Wednesday, South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley vowed to speak up "on anything that goes against American values."

She said the U.S. has always been "the moral compass of the world."

Last week, Trump's choice for secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, equivocated when urged to condemn the crackdown in the Philippines. He said he first wanted to learn more details about facts on the ground.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has been waging a brutal crackdown on drug users and dealers since taking office in June. More than 6,000 suspects have been killed. The Obama administration has criticized the killings, straining ties with a long-standing U.S. ally.

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11:45 a.m.

A leading Democrat says President-elect Donald Trump's pick to become health secretary made "inappropriate" purchases of stock in a health industry firm and needs to reveal whether his investments were based on inside information.

That would-be health secretary is Georgia Republican Rep. Tom Price. He says everything he's done has been legal and ethical.

Democratic Sen. Patty Murray of Washington grilled Price on Wednesday at a Senate Health Committee hearing.

She focused on stock purchases Price made over the past two years in an Australian drug company, Innate Immunotherapeutics.

Murray cited published reports that Price bought the shares after talking to a fellow House Republican who is a major investor in the company.

Price said he had no inside information and decided to invest in it after researching it.

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11:40 a.m.

South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley says she "absolutely" supports moving the American embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Haley, President-elect Donald Trump's pick to be U.N. ambassador, is testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. She says both Israel and the GOP-led Congress want the embassy moved.

Trump promised to shift the embassy during his campaign.

Any change could be highly contentious. A spokesman for Jordan's government recently said that the embassy move would "inflame the Islamic and Arab streets." Jordan serves as custodian of a major Islamic shrine in east Jerusalem and the Palestinians seek a capital there.

A small group of Republican senators is proposing to withhold half of the State Department's 2017 budget until the U.S. embassy completes a move from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

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11:32 a.m.

Health care nominee Tom Price offered a compliment for the Affordable Care Act - rare for a Republican - during Wednesday's Senate hearing on his nomination.

Under questioning by Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, Price acknowledged that President Barack Obama's health care law has improved things in certain areas.

"The coverage has certainly improved," Price said.

Pressed by Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., Price also said whatever follows the 2010 health care law needs to preserve access for people with pre-existing medical conditions. A system that does not provide access to needed care is not a system that works for patients, Price said.

But he added criticism of Obamacare, saying that it has given people insurance coverage but not necessarily the care they need.

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11:28 a.m.

South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is taking a tough stance against Russia.

Haley, President-elect Donald Trump's pick for U.N. ambassador, is telling the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that she believes Russia committed war crimes by bombing Syrian civilians in the city of Aleppo.

Haley says she doesn't think that the United States can trust Moscow right now. But she acknowledged there are areas, such as counterterrorism, where the two countries can cooperate.

Haley says "the problem is there are no boundaries with Russia."

She says the U.S. needs to let Russia know "we are not OK" with its annexation of Crimea and incursion in Ukraine.

Haley also says she opposed to lifting existing sanctions against Russia unless Moscow changes its behavior.

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11:24 a.m.

A Democratic senator is accusing Donald Trump's pick to run the Environmental Protection Agency of collecting "dark money" from anonymous sources to steer his work as Oklahoma attorney general.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island says Scott Pruitt has collected money from energy companies such as Exxon Mobil and Devon Energy, but also has benefited from front groups that do not have to disclose their donors.

Whitehouse said a political action group Pruitt leads is "a complete black hole into which at least $1 million goes." Whitehouse said Americans deserve to "know exactly who he's working for" if Pruitt is to lead an agency charged with protecting the health and wellbeing of millions of Americans.

Pruitt said he did not found the organization cited by Whitehouse and hired outside groups to raise money for it.

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11:20 a.m.

Donald Trump's pick to become the next health secretary says initial Republican legislation to repeal and revamp President Barack Obama's health care law should not also reshape Medicare.

Georgia Republican Rep. Tom Price is appearing Wednesday before the Senate Health committee. He said Congress should initially focus on recasting the marketplace for individual policies and on changing Medicaid, which provides coverage for low-income people.

Price said the first legislation should not change Medicare, which covers older Americans.

Price and other Republicans have proposed reworking Medicare into a program that would give subsidies to people to purchase their own medical care. Currently it covers a defined set of benefits.

Altering Medicare is one of the most politically sensitive parts of the GOP's drive to change the nation's health care system.

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11:05 a.m.

President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to serve as commerce secretary confirms that he recently fired a household employee on staff since 2009 because the employee could not provide documentation showing the employee was in the country legally.

Sen. John Thune, the Republican chairman of a Senate committee overseeing Wilbur Ross's confirmation hearing, says the employee had previously provided a Social Security card and driver's license. But, in preparation for Ross' confirmation hearing, the employee was unable to provide such documentation again.

Thune emphasizes that Ross had paid all applicable taxes necessary for that employee throughout the employee's tenure.

Ross says "we did the best that we thought we could do to in order verify the legality of the employment and it turned out that was incorrect."

Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson says Ross was forthcoming with the committee and questioned Ross only briefly about it.

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11 a.m.

South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is assailing the Obama administration for failing to block the U.N. Security Council from condemning Israel's settlements in east Jerusalem and the West Bank.

Haley is President-elect Donald Trump's pick for U.N. ambassador.

In testimony Wednesday before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Haley says she won't go to New York and "abstain when the U.N. seeks to create an international environment that encourages boycotts of Israel."

Israel and its supporters lashed out at President Barack Obama for his decision to allow Security Council to pass in December a resolution calling Israel's settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem "a flagrant violation under international law."

The Republican-led House earlier this month cleared a bipartisan measure that rebuked the U.N. and declares unwavering support for Israel.

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10:51

Protesters have gathered outside the hearing room where Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt is testifying at a confirmation hearing to be administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.

Environmental groups, native tribes and others say Pruitt is unfit for the EPA post because of his cozy relationships with oil and gas industry executives who have donated generously his political campaigns.

One woman who entered the hearing room was quickly wrestled out by three police officers as she pulled out a roll of yellow crime scene tape and shouted "We don't want EPA gutted!"

Another activist shouted that "Pruitt should not run the EPA!" She left the room before police could escort her out.

Pruitt told the Senate environment panel that EPA's core mission to protect people, not to oppose industry or particular states.

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10:35 a.m.

A Senate hearing on Rep. Tom Price, picked as Donald Trump's health secretary, opened with the Republican chairman calling him an excellent nominee. But the top Democrat is criticizing the incoming administration's goal of getting rid of President Barack Obama's health law.

Tennessee Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander chairs the Senate Health committee. He said he wants to hear Price's views on how Republicans should replace Obama's health law. Price is a surgeon and has chaired the House Budget Committee, and Alexander says the nominee knows that subject "very, very well."

Top panel Democrat Patty Murray of Washington criticized Price for his House vote last week to ease passage of future legislation erasing much of Obama's law. She said her constituents "have tears in their eyes" because they're worried they'll lose their coverage.

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10:20 a.m.

Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., is praising billionaire Wilbur Ross for agreeing to divest the vast majority of his business holdings and resign from nearly 50 boards and organizations if he is confirmed as the Commerce secretary.

Now, Nelson says he hopes President-elect Donald Trump will follow his example.

Nelson is the lead Democrat on a Senate committee holding a confirmation hearing for Ross on Wednesday.

Trump will put his business assets in a trust but will hand over the management of his international real estate development, property management and licensing company. The Office of Government Ethics recommends that Trump sell of his businesses and put the proceeds in a blind trust.

Nelson says Trump should eliminate any business dealings that could pose a potential conflict of interest.

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10 a.m.

A top Republican senator says Congress should not finalize repeal of President Barack Obama's health care law unless it first has a replacement ready.

Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, the chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee, released a statement ahead of the panel's hearing Wednesday on the nomination of Rep. Tom Price to head the Department of Health and Human Services.

Alexander said Obama's law is like an old bridge, in danger of collapse. First it needs repairs, then new bridges have to be built before the old one is closed.

Republicans have sent mixed signals about how they plan to "repeal and replace" Obama's law. Initially, they planned to first repeal the law and replace it later, a process that could take years. But that could destabilize insurance markets, sending premiums through the roof and making millions uninsured.

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9:50 a.m.

President-elect Donald Trump's pick for health secretary is pledging a bipartisan approach if confirmed to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.

Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., an orthopedic surgeon-turned-legislator, says in prepared remarks for his first nomination hearing that he'll carry "an appreciation for bipartisan, team-driven policymaking" to his new job, if confirmed.

Price faces a contentious hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee. Democrats are concerned that Trump and the Republican Congress will sweep away President Barack Obama's health care law without putting in a replacement that covers as many people. They have also criticized Price for his stock trades involving health care companies. The Trump transition team says Price has complied with all applicable laws.

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9:40 a.m.

Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard has made an unannounced trip to Syria.

That's the word from a spokeswoman for the Hawaii congresswoman.

Emily Latimer says in a statement that Gabbard is on a fact-finding trip to Syria, which is in the throes of a civil war, and to Lebanon. Latimer isn't providing details until Gabbard returns.

The main question is whether the congresswoman met with Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Latimer says Gabbard - a member of the House Armed Services and House Foreign Affairs committees, is committed to doing all she can to promote and work for peace.

Latimer says Gabbard felt it was important to meet with a number of individuals and groups including religious leaders, humanitarian workers, refugees and government and community leaders.

The trip was first reported by Foreign Policy.

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9:35 a.m.

Billionaire investor Wilbur Ross - in line to be commerce secretary - says the thing he's proudest of during his career is working with union leaders to save thousands of jobs in the steel industry.

Ross is facing a Senate confirmation hearing Wednesday, and he's citing his experience as an investor and business owner.

If he's confirmed, Ross will represent the interest of U.S. businesses domestically and abroad.

Ross says in prepared testimony that he's probably had more direct experience than any prior Cabinet nominee in dealing with unfair trade practices in the steel business and other sectors.

He says other nations want access to the U.S. market and that America should only provide access to nations that agree to play "by our standards of fair trade."

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9 a.m.

Attorneys general from six states have sent a letter urging the Senate Judiciary Committee to reject the nomination of Sen. Jeff Sessions for attorney general.

In the letter dated Jan. 17, the prosecutors said they had "grave concern" that Session would "diligently and fairly enforce all laws protective of civil rights, public safety, health and welfare."

The letter said Sessions made bigoted statements in the past, rejected sensible, criminal justice policy reforms, and badly managed his office during his tenure as Alabama attorney general.

Attorneys General Eric Schneiderman of New York, Ellen Rosenblum of Oregon, Brian Frosh of Maryland, Maura Healey of Massachusetts, Doug Chin of Hawaii and Karl Racine of the District of Columbia also signed the letter.

Sessions is expected to win confirmation in the GOP-led Senate.