It has been a bad week for EPA administrator Scott Pruitt by all accounts. An announcement by the Government Accountability Office that Pruitt violated federal law when he spent more than $43,000 to install a private phone booth in his office. A scathing op-ed from The New York Times calling Pruitt “ridiculous” and his behaviors “borderline thuggish.” And a resolution signed by 170 members of Congress calling for his resignation, along with signs that top Republican leaders are questioning his behaviors. But, of course, this week’s developments are just the latest in a steady stream of bad press about Pruitt’s lavish spending habits, ethics violations, and his general abuse of power.
If Scott Pruitt is troubled that his unethical and illegal behaviors are making national headlines, he should not turn to public opinion polls for any comfort. A Huffington Post/YouGov poll conducted on April 5 and 6 showed that while many U.S. adults had yet to hear much about Pruitt at that time, those who had opinions were twice as likely to have an unfavorable view of him as a favorable one. And by overwhelming margins, the public finds paying well below-market rent, flying first-class while on government business, and granting large raises for two aides (even after the White House had already rejected the requests) to be “inappropriate” behavior. And even people who voted for Pruitt’s boss in November 2016 are unhappy with his behaviors. So it’s not surprising that, Americans are three times more likely to say Trump should fire Pruitt than to say he should stay.
A Public Policy Polling survey released earlier this week found that merely 29 percent of U.S. voters approved of the Pruitt’s job performance at the EPA while a majority (54 percent) disapproved. Although this survey was fielded prior to the release of the GAO report, nearly three-in-four voters reported having already seen or heard something about the controversies surrounding Pruitt. And among these voters, 65 percent said they thought Trump should fire Pruitt, while just 30 percent thought he should remain in office.
Finally, a Reuters/Ipsos poll released just yesterday found that Scott Pruitt tops the list of White House or Executive Branch officials who the public thinks will be next to resign or be terminated. One-in-five U.S. adults believe Pruitt will be the next person to leave the administration.
Could this be the beginning of the end of Scott Pruitt’s career in government? Polling suggests that much of the public hopes so.