Lauren Lantry, lauren.lantry@sierraclub.org
From day one, EPA administrator Scott Pruitt has constantly put himself in hot water. But with all the bad news from the past few days, the pot Scott Pruitt is standing in isn’t just boiling, it’s boiling over.
The New York Times and ABC report on documents obtained via the Sierra Club’s FIOA litigation that expose that Pruitt tried to get a family friend of his lobbyist landlord a job at EPA and that the same lobbyist landlord was frequently lobbying the EPA for his clients, proving that Pruitt was trying to do favors for the folks who gave him a sweetheart deal and that he lied about the lobbyist’s clients.
Pruitt took another step toward removing science from the EPA by abolishing three science advisory boards
The EPA inspector general started an investigation into Pruitt’s retaliation toward staff who would prefer an EPA administrator with even a semblance of understanding of the EPAs mission and ethics rules.
Fearing negative publicity, Pruitt and Trump waited 6 months to tell military members that they’ve been drinking contaminated water. As a result, another Republican member of Congress, Representative Brian Fitzpatrick, called for Pruitt’s resignation over his callous withholding of this report -- after his opponent also pushed for Pruitt to resign.
Last week, it came out that Pruitt spent $1500 on one pair of “tactical” pants.
And to add to the anti science, anti climate direction Pruitt is taking our EPA in, NOAA, a leading source of climate research, removed climate change from its mission. The Trump administration is taking away the power of our watchdog agencies to keep American families safe -- The EPA is transfering power to corporate polluters and ignoring science, NOAA will no longer conduct climate research, and the Department of Health and Human Services is removing the guarantee that patients will get full and accurate information about their health care from their doctor.
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.