GOP's Inhofe told Biden's EPA nominee to 'behave' — or he would 'talk to your daddy'

During a confirmation hearing on May 13, Radhika Fox — President Biden's nominee for a top position at the Environmental Protection Agency — was questioned by U.S. senators. One of them was Republican Sen. James Inhofe of Oklahoma, who told Fox that if she didn't "behave" in the position, he would have to tell her "daddy."

According to Washington Post reporter Colby Itkowitz, "Inhofe's office said he was playing off Radhika Fox's opening statement where she mentioned that her father was in the room and credited her hard-working immigrant parents. The exchange between the 86-year-old male senator and the much younger female nominee to lead the EPA's Office of Water was not antagonistic, but drew attention from those who wondered whether he would have made the same quip to a man. CNN first reported Inhofe's remark."

Inhofe, Itkowitz notes, has been "one of the Senate's most vocal climate change deniers." And one of the things the Oklahoma Republican questioned her about was the Trump Administration's decision to roll back some of the environment policies of the Obama Administration.

Inhofe told Biden's nominee, "I appreciate your comments, particularly in your opening statement. I enjoyed that. And so, I will look forward to working with you. And if you don't behave, I'm going to talk to your daddy."

Leacy Burke, a spokesperson for Inhofe, told the Post, "He made a lighthearted joke at the end of his questioning to recognize her father again since he was present at the hearing. As he said in the hearing, Inhofe looks forward to working with Ms. Fox once she is confirmed."

Fox's parents immigrated to the United States from a rural area of India. During the hearing, Fox told U.S. senators, "My parents grew up without electricity. They relied on wells for drinking water and pit latrines for wastewater management. Everything I have accomplished is because I stand on the shoulders of my parents' hard work."