Questions for Sarah Huckabee Sanders: Pruitt is Flailing Edition

The drumbeat of scandals and embarrassing headlines created by Scott Pruitt for the Trump Administration has become relentless. Here’s just the latest round-up and some questions that Sarah Huckabee Sanders needs to be asked.

Today, Sarah Huckabee Sanders should clarify whether Donald Trump will hold Pruitt accountable -- like he did with former HHS Secretary Tom Price and former VA Secretary David Shulkin -- for his blatantly unethical behavior and call on Pruitt to resign.

The Sierra Club calls on Sanders to answer the following questions:

• What does the President think of Pruitt defying the direct orders of the White House to give two political appointed bureaucrats massive raises?

• Did the President know about these raises and the series of other revelations reported late last night when he called Pruitt?

• Why is Scott Pruitt being held to a different standard than Tom Price and David Shulkin, when his actions may even be “criminal” according to ethics experts?

Background

• In a story that ran after Trump reportedly gave a vote of confidence to Pruitt, The Atlantic reports that Pruitt defied direct orders from the Trump White House, using a provision of the Safe Drinking Water Act to give massive, unauthorized raises to two political appointees. That’s all while Pruitt has taken aim at numerous clean water safeguards. One of the aides in question is a longtime political staffer for Pruitt who headed his PAC and Super PAC.

• First class flights (paid for with taxpayer dollars) weren’t fancy enough for Pruitt, so he had the EPA consider chartering a private jet for $100,000 a month, according to the Washington Post.

• Connections between Williams and Jensen -- headed by lobbyist Steven Hart, who arranged Pruitt’s sweetheart condo deal --  and fossil fuel companies pressuring EPA and the Trump Administration to gut clean air and water safeguards continue to pile up.

• According to the New York Times, Enbridge, a client of Williams and Jensen, had their pipeline-expansion plan approved by the EPA at the same time that Pruitt was renting the condominium.

• According to the Houston Chronicle, numerous Williams and Jensen clients were lobbying Pruitt and saw their agenda advanced including:

• Cheniere Energy which owned the only Liquid Natural Gas export plant that was active when Pruitt travelled to Morocco last year on a taxpayer funded trip to tout liquid natural gas. For Cheniere, Williams and Jensen lobbied the EPA on obtaining federal approval for liquefied natural gas facilities, according to the Houston Chronicle.

• Concho Resources received the 2017 Distinguished Service Award from the Texas Oil and Gas Association last year at the very same dinner Pruitt gave a keynote speech. On behalf of Concho Resources, Williams and Jensen lobbied the EPA to weaken the regulation of methane emissions from drilling and production, as well as clean water rules. The EPA later issued a stay on the rule, the first step to a rollback.

• Oklahoma City-based Enable Midstream, for whom Williams and Jensen lobbied the EPA to rollback the agency’s newsource methane protection rule. The rule was designed to reduce emissions of the greenhouse gas methane. The EPA later issued a stay on the rule, the first step to a rollback.

• Oklahoma Gas and Electric: Williams and Jensen lobbied the EPA to repeal or revise the Clean Power Plan. The EPA started the repeal process for the Clean Power Plan in December.

• Amid reports that Trump is upset with Pruitt over his sweetheart condo deal, they’re launching an inquiry to "dig a little deeper" into the rental agreement, according to Reuters.

• While Pruitt was living for cheap at the lobbyist-owned condo, the house served as a hub for Republican lawmakers raising money for their congressional campaigns.