Lauren Lantry, lauren.lantry@sierraclub.org
Scott Pruitt’s hell week - and weekend - of embarrassing round the clock headlines of his ethics violations looks to be continuing this week as news breaks that he personally approved massive raises for two of his employees after previously denying doing so. In order to get ahead of the Inspector General after Pruitt’s botched Fox News interview aired, top EPA aides began looking for files that contradicted Pruitt’s statement that he did not know about the raises.
“Pruitt has landed himself in hot water so many times over the last week that he’s fully cooked. He knows it, too, as he's trying to cover up his defiance of Donald Trump and his lie on Fox News. Pruitt’s growing list scandals cannot be brushed over by anyone who cares about accountability or ethics, and it’s long past time for him to resign.” -- Sierra Club Senior Federal Policy Director John Coequyt
With so much breaking, here’s the latest wrap up of his most recent scandals:
The Atlantic reports Scott Pruitt and his staff have been caught covering up Pruitt’s deception around is own responsibility for defying Trump’s orders to not give raises to his Oklahoma friends, Sarah Greenwalt and Millan Hupp. Emails show that Pruitt personally approved Greenwalt’s $56k raise, despite Pruitt saying otherwise on Fox News.
The New York Times reports that the federal government’s top ethics official -- who was appointed by Trump -- sent a letter to the EPA questioning a Pruitt’s unethical conduct and asking the agency to take “appropriate actions to address any violations.”
GOP senators have criticized Pruitt for his long list of scandals. Senators Kennedy, Graham and Collins have all called out Pruitt’s misdeeds, with even Fox News and Trump’s favorite newspaper, the New York Post, picking the criticism up.
The narrative that Trump is keeping Pruitt around because of his perceived effectiveness has been undermined by multiple stories -- including from The New Republic, Politico, and The New York Times -- showing that, while he remains a dangerous threat to the health of our communities, science, and the integrity of the EPA (among other things), much of his sloppy and careless work trying to roll back environmental safeguards won’t hold up in court. Pruitt has taken more than 30 actions to repeal and weaken environmental safeguards but most of those are far from complete and many have already been overturned by courts.
Other Updates:
April 8 - COLLINS: Pruitt Not Fit for EPA on Policy Grounds Alone
April 7 - Donald Trump is Being Conned by Scott Pruitt
April 6 - The Worst Week in Washington is the Only Thing Pruitt has Won
April 6 - Questions for Sarah Huckabee Sanders: Scott Pruitt is Under Siege
April 5, Questions for Sarah Huckabee Sanders: Pruitt's Situation Goes from Bad to Unsustainable
April 4, Sanders Refuses to Say Trump Has Confidence in Pruitt
April 4, Scandal Ridden Scott Pruitt Lies on Fox News
April 3, Questions for Sarah Huckabee Sanders: Pruitt is Flailing Edition
April 2, What They Are Saying on Pruitt’s Condogate: “Grifter,” “Unravelling,” “Criminal”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3 million members and supporters. In addition to helping people from all backgrounds explore nature and our outdoor heritage, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.