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Scott Pruitt, President Trump's pick for EPA administrator.(Photo: Zach Gibson, AFP/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON The new head of the Environmental Protection Agency suggested to a gathering of conservative Republicans on Saturday that the agency could begin as early as next week the process ofrolling back some of the federal regulations put in place by the Obama administration.

"The future aint what it used to be" at the EPA,Scott Pruitt said during an address at the Conservative Political Action Conference, or CPAC.

Pruitt, who started at the agency Tuesday,did not specifically indicate what rulesPresident Trump's administration will target immediately. But he cited a controversial clean water rule as an example of a regulation that wenttoo far.

The regulation known as the Waters of the United States Rule andadopted by the Obama administration expands the definition of waters subject to the jurisdiction of the EPA under the Clean Water Act.

Critics charge the rule so broadly expands the federal governments authority that it would be able to regulate ditches and small bodies of water. The EPA finalized the rule in May 2015 but it has been blocked by a federal appeals court pending further legal challenges.

Congress voted last year to overturn the rule by invoking a rarely used law known as the Congressional Review Act. But President Obama vetoed that resolution.

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In his CPAC address, Pruitt, who as Oklahoma attorney general sued the EPA 14 times, said people who want to eliminate the agency are "justified" for such attitudes because of the regulatory overreach by the Obama administration.

"People across this country look at the EPA like they look at the IRS," he said. "I hope to be able to change that."

Under his leadership, Pruitt said, the EPA would pay close attention to the rule-making process to ensureany new rules do not go beyond what is allowed under federal law.

Executive agencies only have the power that Congress has given them, he said. They cant make it up as they go. They cant fill in the blank.

One of his top priorities, he said, will be providing businesses with regulatory certainty.

Were going to provide certainty by living within the framework that Congress has passed, he said. Obama-era regulations that dontfit within that framework will be rolled back,Pruitt added.

Pruitt also promised to work with the states as partners, not adversaries on issues such as clean air and water.

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EPA head suggests rollback of Obama-era rules may begin next week - USA TODAY

WASHINGTON (AP) The Latest on the selection of a new national leader of the Democratic Party (all times local):

4:25 p.m.

Former President Barack Obama has congratulated Tom Perez on his election to lead the Democratic Party and commended his decision to ask runner-up Keith Ellison to be his deputy.

Obama said in a statement that he knows Perez will unite us under that banner of opportunity, and lay the groundwork for a new generation of Democratic leadership for this big, bold, inclusive, dynamic America we love so much.

Perez, who was labor secretary under Obama, won the top party job on the second ballot Saturday at the Democratic National Committee meeting in Atlanta.

He is the first Latino to hold the post.

___

3:35 p.m.

In a show of unity, newly minted Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez has picked runner-up Keith Ellison to be deputy chairman.

Perez won the top job on the second ballot Saturday at the DNC meeting in Atlanta. Perez, who was labor secretary under President Barack Obama, immediately asked members to make Ellison the deputy.

In remarks to the gathering, Ellison stressed the need for a unified party despite the divisions between establishment Democrats who backed Perez and the liberal wing that favored Ellison.

The Minnesota congressman spoke of the earnest work we must do to confront Donald Trump as well as creating a country where everyone can aspire to a good life.

Ellison said he and all his supporters were going to help Perez as the party tries to get back to its winning ways.

___

3:20 p.m.

Democrats have a new national party chairman and its Tom Perez, who was labor secretary under President Barack Obama.

Perez won over Keith Ellison, a Minnesota congressman, in the second round of voting Saturday by Democratic National Committee members at their meeting in Atlanta.

Perez gave a speech before the vote, and he said Democrats face a crisis of confidence and a crisis of relevance. He pledged to take the fight to Trump and right-wing Republicans.

The Democrats power-deficit is stark.

Republicans occupy the White House, run both chambers of Congress and control about two-thirds of U.S. statehouses.

Perez and Ellison each pledged to rebuild state and local parties, including in Republican-dominated states. Both said the party must capitalize on widespread opposition to Trump but also work to reach frustrated working-class voters who felt abandoned Democrats and embraced Trump.

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2:35 p.m.

Several candidates for Democratic Party leader have bowed out and thats left a showdown between Tom Perez labor secretary under President Barack Obama and Keith Ellison, a Minnesota congressman.

It takes 214.5 votes to win and Perez has come up just one short in the first round of voting Saturday by members of the Democratic National Committee meeting in Atlanta. Ellison captured 200 votes.

Thats allowed several candidates who won captured a dozen or so votes to step away, heading into the second round of voting.

Sally Boynton Brown, who got 12 votes, exited the race without making an endorsement.

Samuel Ronan praised both candidates as he departed the race.

Jehmu Greene endorsed Perez, and Peter Peckarsky backed Ellison.

___

2:20 p.m.

Democrats have held their first round of voting for a new party leader, and theres no winner yet.

Former Obama Labor Secretary Tom Perez has fallen just short a majority for victory, but not far behind is Keith Ellison a Minnesota congressman.

So members of the Democratic National Committee are set to move ahead with a second round of voting at their meeting in Atlanta.

A group of long-shot candidates captured enough votes to require another round of voting. Perez and Ellison will try to win over their backers to secure a majority.

Perez and Ellison each promise to oppose President Donald Trump and rebuild state and local Democratic organizations.

___

1:05 p.m.

The national Democratic chairmans race is narrowing before party activists even cast ballots.

Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana, told Democratic National Committee members Saturday that he did not have the votes and was removing his name from consideration.

That increases the likelihood that former Labor Secretary Tom Perez or Minnesota Rep. Keith Ellison could win the job without a marathon voting session.

There still are six candidates, and the winner must win a majority.

Buttigieg had campaigned as an outsider promising a fresh start. He had hoped neither Ellison nor Perez could reach a majority, opening the door for another option.

Buttigieg urged the party to look outside Washington to find its way back.

___

12:50 p.m.

A congressman who wants to head the Democratic National Committee says his party is in this mess because we lost not one election, but a thousand elections at all levels around the country.

Keith Ellison of Minnesota says hell turn around the partys fortune if hes elected DNC chairman.

He made his comments before party activists meeting in Atlanta. The vote is expected later Saturday.

Whatever the outcome, Ellison says its important that the party is unified after the gathering as Democrats work to counter President Donald Trump.

He says: Weve got to come out of here, hand in hand, brothers and sisters, because Trump is right outside of that door, and not just Trump, but Trumpism.

___

12:30 p.m.

A leading candidate to be Democratic Party chairman says his party is suffering from a crisis of confidence, a crisis of relevance after the election of Donald Trump as president.

Tom Perez is pledging that if hes elected chairman, hell help turn this party around and get Democrats winning again.

The former labor secretary under President Barack Obama says a united Democratic Party is not only our best hope, it is Donald Trumps worst nightmare.

Perez spoke before party activists in Atlanta, as the Democratic National Committee neared a vote on a new leader.

___

12 p.m.

The outgoing Democratic Party chief is addressing cybersecurity concerns after internal communications were stolen by hackers and leaked during the 2016 presidential election.

U.S. intelligence officials blame Russian agents.

Donna Brazile tells Democratic National Committee members gathered in Atlanta that the party has worked with high-tech experts to leave the party more secure.

She chides President Donald Trump for his mockery of DNC cybersecurity and his doubts that Russians are at fault.

Brazile is urging Congress to investigate whether Russians hacked the Republican National Committee.

No RNC emails were leaked during the 2016 campaign. Republican officials insist their party communications were not breached.

Brazile suggests that proves Russians wanted to help Trump.

___

9:55 a.m.

Democratic officials are in new territory with a competitive election for party chief.

In past races, a leading candidate usually emerged well before actual voting.

This time, theres a high likelihood that will take multiple rounds of voting for former Obama Labor Secretary Tom Perez or a Minnesota congressman, Keith Ellison, or a dark horse candidate to win a majority.

So, party staff and 442 eligible DNC members have had to dust off complicated rules that usually dont matter.

For example, party officials expect about 70 or 75 members to be absent. Nearly all have designated another member to cast paper proxy ballots on their behalf.

That will add a layer of suspense. Members in the room vote electronically, with quick tallies. But the paper proxies must be counted by hand.

___

9:35 a.m.

The Democratic National Committee has resumed its meeting in Atlanta and on the agenda later in the morning is the election of a new chairman to lead the party in the era of Republican President Donald Trump.

The top contenders are Tom Perez, labor secretary under President Barack Obama, and Keith Ellison, a Minnesota congressman. Other candidates are maintaining long-shot bids.

The election for party chief involves 442 eligible members of the national party committee. The winner must capture a majority of votes cast. The DNC will have as many rounds of voting as it takes for a new chairman to emerge.

Perez, Ellison and other Democrats agree on the need to rebuild the party at the state and local levels. They say those organizations then can capitalize on the widespread opposition to Trump by getting frustrated voters to elect more Democrats.

___

9:20 a.m.

Democrats are gathering in Atlanta to pick a new national chairman and the vote seems to be coming down to Tom Perez, labor secretary under President Barack Obama, and Keith Ellison, a Minnesota congressman.

Those voting in Saturdays race include hundreds of state party leaders, donors and activists who make up the Democratic National Committee and determine the partys direction.

Perez supporters say hes on the edge of the required majority. Ellison says hes still a viable candidate.

A few other candidates are holding out hope that neither Ellison nor Perez can seal the deal and that would open up the race for an upset in later rounds of voting.

The election is seen as the start of party rebuilding after Donald Trumps presidential victory.

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The Latest: Obama congratulates Perez as new DNC leader - Boston.com

An analyst is warning that Barack Obama, through his political organization and its army of 30,000 operatives, posesa threat to his ownDemocratic Party, says a report in Joseph Farahs G2 Bulletin.

The analysis comes from Martin Armstrong, whose Armstrong Economics provides commentary on a wide range of issues extending beyond economics, including history, global warming, real estateand world events.

Obama has circumvented the Democrats with [Organizing for America] and has established a clandestine unaccountable political party taking money from questionable people, he writes.

There are many Democrats at the state level who are starting to see OFA as an organization independent of the Democratic Party itself, which [is] trying to undermine Trump, yet may in fact undermine the Democratic Party itself.

OFA was set up when Obama began his first run for the White House, ran through his presidency and continues now that hes out of office.

Obama is behind the effort to derail and block the Trump administration on everything. However, Obama may be sowing the seeds of the destruction of the Democratic Party altogether. Those who think Obama is not behind this coup are blinded by their bias, he writes. To agree with this statement DOES NOT mean the Republicans are saints just look at John McCain if you need reassurance. John McCain voted to tax the Internet.

However,he says, Obama is deliberately trying to create an uprising and is side-stepping the Democratic Party himself because they will not agree with his agenda.

Hedge Funds and Hollywood are assisting him so there is money and propaganda on his side. ABC is among the worst in the mainstream media, which is a total disgrace for Disney. The show the View openly states that not one person voted for Trump and all they do is bash Republicans. You are hard pressed to find a more bias[ed] show spouting out propaganda from the agenda on ABC.

He says its all being organized and directed through OFA not the Democratic Party.

The civil war brewing within the Democrats is pitting the state level against the feds and particularly OFA. How this plays out will be extremely interesting.

He points out that there already have been reports, in several publications, that state level Democrats are starting to revolt against the Washington elite and that includes Obamas covert machine behind creating civil unrest.

I have reported that normally a presidents fund is shut down after they leave office. Here, Obama has taken a house in Washington, built a wall around it at taxpayers expense, and turned it into his bunker to obstruct anything that Trump tries to do.

For the rest of this report, and more, please go to Joseph Farahs G2 Bulletin.

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Analyst warns Obama now undermining Democrats - WND.com

Former President Obama and other top Democrats are focusing efforts on state-level races and ending the reconfiguring of voting districts through the politically-laden process known as gerrymandering -- a combined effort to end Trump-ism and help their party regain control of Congress and legislatures across the country.

Obama indicated before leaving the White House last fall that his short-term, post-presidency focus will be on General Assembly races and redistricting after the 2020 Census.

And 2016 presidential candidate former Maryland Gov. Martin OMalley has become the most recent high-profile Democrat to take up the cause.

America needs non-partisan redistricting commissions, OMalley said at Boston College Law School, where hes now a visiting professor. This simple reform must become the new norm of American democracy. How can we expect people to vote if their voice has been carved into irrelevance by a political map ahead of time?

An early test for Democrats trying to win state-level races and stopping the Trump wave arrives this weekend.

Delaware is holding a special election for an open state Senate seat that will decided whether Democrats keep their roughly 40-year hold on the chamber.

"If we lose, a new Republican majority will take power and rubber-stamp every single one of Trump's hateful policies," the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee said in a recent fundraising letter. "They'll grind all our progress to a halt."

Voting districts are redrawn after a federal Census to reflect the changes in population and other demographic.

Much of the redistricting across the country is done by the political party that controls the state legislature.

However, critics argue the process, known as gerrymandering, has run amok, with the majority party drawing districts in crazy-quilt patterns to help protect incumbents and their party win more races.

Theres one district in Virginia where you have to take a boat on the James River to get to another part, Jared Leopold, spokesman for the Democratic National Redistricting Committee, told Fox News.

The tax-exempt group is leading Washington Democrats major effort to erase the majorities Republicans have in Congress and statehouses across the country.

The Republicans wave election of 2010 handed them the House majority and control of 20 additional state House and Senate chambers, giving the party broad authority in redrawing district maps after the Census that year.

Twenty-three legislatures are primarily responsible for that task. And the situation has only helped Republicans retain their seats and add to 2010 gains.

Leopold cited three main objectives: help Democrats win more races in the next few election cycles to put them in a better situation before redistricting in 2020, embark on legal efforts to undo some of the more egregious redistricting after the 2010 Census and push ballot initiatives that will lead to fair maps.

He described the NDRC as a super group that brings together the efforts of the Democratic Governors Association, the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee and House Majority PAC.

The groups chairman is former Attorney General Eric Holder, whose support, along with Obamas, will give the group bonda fides and fundraising clout.

"We heard a lot in this past election about rigged systems, Holder said last month in announcing the groups start. But I want to say the biggest rigged system in America is gerrymandering.

However, the group is not championing non-partisan redistricting commissions, as O'Malley and others are.

OMalley, who is continuing efforts to lead the partys progressive wing, has also made clear that his call to end gerrymander speaks directly to what he fears is a rising, anti-immigrant sentiment and other policies associated with Republican President Trump.

I want to speak with you today about the immediate challenges facing our nation, said OMalley, who also equates Trumps beliefs and polices to fascism. We must frame a principled opposition to Trump-ism.

Beyond the Delaware contest, the real bellwether races will start next year in Virginia, North Carolina and New Jersey.

Virginia, a battleground state that has voted Democrat the past three presidential elections, next year is having state House races and a gubernatorial contest to replace outgoing Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe.

The governors race already has heavyweights from both parties including Democratic Rep. Tom Perriello. The Republican slate includes Corey Stewart, an immigration hawk and former Trump campaigner, and Ed Gillespie, a former Republican National Committee chairman who nearly upset Virginia Democratic Sen. Mark Warner in 2014.

Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee spokeswoman Carolyn Fiddler told Fox News that the Democrats recent efforts are a smart refocus of efforts, more than a reckoning and that related fundraising has been astronomical.

She also said Trumps victory has indeed sparked a lot of interest -- from potential canvassers to candidates. But it has also crystalized some social and political priorities for people in ways they had not before.

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Obama, Democratic 'super group' unite to end gerrymandering, win state races, reclaim majorities - Fox News

Ad will collapse in seconds CLOSE /the national interest February 22, 2017 02/22/2017 9:11 a.m. By Jonathan Chait

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The Republican Party has largely decided to cover for Donald Trumps massive corruption, grotesque lies, and manifest unfitness for office. But few of them have gone quite so far, or quite so cravenly, as Rand Paul. The junior senator from Kentucky, and onetime hope of the extremely short-lived libertarian moment in American politics, has not only attached himself to Trump, but is actively snuffing out whatever faint stirrings of opposition his colleagues can muster.

While the GOP Congress has ignored the presidents self-enrichment, refusal to disclose his tax returns, and clear violations of the Constitutions Emoluments Clause, some have expressed willingness to investigate his opaque ties to Russia. Paul is not one of them. And not only does he see no need for investigation on Russia, Paul has staked out a stance against any investigations, period, on the brutally frank grounds that it would impair the partys legislative agenda. I just dont think its useful to be doing investigation after investigation, particularly of your own party, he told Kilmeade and Friends. Well never even get started with doing the things we need to do, like repealing Obamacare, if were spending our whole time having Republicans investigate Republicans.

Many Republicans have made piecemeal excuses not to exercise the oversight function. Only Paul has elevated the practice of looking away from the crimes of the Executive branch to an actual principle of governance.

John McCain has staked out the most independent position, most recently likening Trumps description of the media as enemies of the people to the words of a dictator. Paul is having none of it. Last weekend, Paul appeared on CNN to deliver a defense of Trump so fulsome that Breitbart has published it in its entirety. After repeatedly swatting away concerns about the president, Paul explained that McCains criticism of Trumps authoritarian ravings were nothing but a cover for his ideological vendetta:

Obviously Paul has longstanding disagreements with McCain on foreign policy. But the subject of this rant was not foreign policy; it was Trumps creepy, Stalinesque dismissal of the news media as a class enemy, which Paul is excusing by changing the subject to other issues. Every authoritarian requires spineless lackeys who will attack his dissidents. In Trumps Republican Party, the authoritarians best friend is the libertarian.

Update: Paul appeared on Fox & Friends to respond to this. A smirking Steve Doocey asked, So, New York Magazine says youre Trumps most loyal stooge because, while other members of your party have some opposition to Mr. Trump, you seem to want to actually advance his agenda. Presented with a question purporting to dismiss the premise of this piece, but actually confirming it instead, Paul made two defenses:

1. The haters are gonna hate, what are you gonna do? This ignores the possibility that abandoning his blanket opposition to any investigation of Trumps scandals is a thing he could do.

2. Im probably one of the most independent Senators on the Hill I was the only Republican that voted against a budget that would have added $9 trillion in new debt. So Im hardly someone whos afraid to tout the party line.

It is true that Paul cast a symbolic vote against the budget, whose passage was not in doubt. The degree to which this message vote balances out his opposition to conducting any oversight whatsoever on the Executive Branch is for the reader to decide. I will note that Im hardly someone whos afraid to tout the party line may be a case where Paul stated what he is thinking in his head rather than what he meant to say out loud.

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Scenes from the Breitbart CPAC Luau (Featuring Dog the Bounty Hunter, Among Other Luminaries)

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H.R. McMaster reportedly said that the conservative catchphrase is unhelpful since Muslim terrorists are un-Islamic.

Ronald Reagan was the last president to skip the event, but that was because he was recovering from an assassination attempt.

The Establishment candidate narrowly defeated the insurgent favorite of Sanders campaign veterans, then began to immediately seek party unity.

The boxing legends family is considering a lawsuit over the incident.

The California Republican thinks Attorney General Jeff Sessions should recuse himself.

As conservatism faces an existential crisis, a tour through CPACs after parties proves educational.

A small dip from 2015, but the third-straight yearly decline under Vision Zero.

Former Kentucky governor Steve Beshear is an out-of-work centrist representing a party thats energized on the left.

A leaked document shows House Republicans mulling controversial ideas like ending Medicaid as we know it and a new tax on employer-provided insurance.

It says citizenship in the Muslim-majority countries included in the ban is an unlikely indicator of a terrorism threat.

Dont feel bad for Paul Ryan, hell end up getting a big tax cut for the rich in the end.

Its been a hot month, with nearly 4,500 record highs set, compared to 29 record lows.

The White House denied any links to President Trumps rhetoric.

Earlier in the day, Trump explained that the media isnt the enemy of the people but the fake news media is.

Kevin Hassett once co-authored a book imploring investors to enter the stock market just before the dot-com bubble burst.

Is the mainstream right ready to replace its traditional values with pure nationalism?

It looked like Attorney General Jeff Sessionss warm-up act in loosening protections for all minorities.

The president told CPAC the media shouldnt be allowed to cite anonymous sources, and suggested people shouldnt protest after an election.

We will not answer to donors, lobbyists, or special interests now heres another story about me answering to special interests.

This may be the lowlight of a week that also saw him make an unhinged phone call to a critic that got recorded and published.

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Fox News Congratulates Rand Paul For Being Trump's Stooge - New York Magazine