Gov. Fallin Talks Trump Transition, Punts On Dakota Access And Climate Change

Speaking after a public affairs forum in Oklahoma City, Governor Mary Fallin shed more light on her new role as a vice-chair on President-Elect Donald Trump's transition team - making it clear the appointment will not interfere with her duties as Governor.

Fallin joins twelve other transition vice-chairs, a list that looks like Trump's unofficial cabinet, although it does include members like Sen. Jeff Sessions, Dr. Ben Carson and Fmr. Gen. Mike Flynn whom Mr. Trump has tapped as his Attorney General, Secretary of Housing and Urban development and National Security Advisor, respectively.

Fallin says she has no new plans to visit New York and the work won't take away from her job of running the state. She recently met with the President-Elect at his offices in Trump Tower.

“It's more of an advisory roll over conference calls over emails saying do you know people that might fit into these various federal agencies that would make good appointments for the president,” she said speaking about Mr. Trump.

Fallin is rumored to be a top pick for secretary of the interior, which handles the national parks, Indian affairs and environmental quality. When asked what she would do about protests over the Dakota Access Pipeline, she hinted she could handle it by touting her work at different levels of government with Native American tribes and energy companies, although she said she wasn’t going to talk about specific policies.

“In the end, it's a decision for President [sic] Trump. It'll also be his agenda and his policies that whomever happens to be interior secretary will carry out,” she said.

After being pressed for the second time in two weeks, Fallin again declined to give a “yes or no” on whether she believes in climate change.

“I think everything should be based on scientific information, I've always been a big believer in that,” she said.

According to NASA, 97 percent of climate scientists agree climate change is real and is being caused by human activity. Last month, the World Meteorological Organization predicted 2016 would be the hottest year on record, topping the record set in 2015.

So far, Fallin said there had been no other movement on when Mr. Trump would be announcing his pick for Secretary of the Interior, only that she would continue to work to help fill more than 4,000 open positions before the inauguration in January.

“The decision about appointments of different cabinet secretaries will be up to President-elect Trump and it is on his time table, but it is a great honor just to be mentioned,” she said.