WASHINGTON, DC -- Today, Politico reported that EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt's top aide met with chemical industry representatives just after news broke about the agency suppressing a study on health effects of two common chemicals-- perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA).
WASHINGTON, DC -- Today, The Hill reported that EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt plans to repeal key parts of the Chemical Safety Rule meant to inform the public of chemical hazards before disasters happen. The decision would also rescind a one-year deadline for chemical incident reports. The Chemical Safety Rule applies to 12,500 facilities, including chemical manufacturers, refineries and fertilizer plants.
As he floundered yesterday, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt revealed that he broke federal law on multiple accounts and lied about his corruption and scandals numerous other times.
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today, under intense scrutiny from Senators Tom Udall, Pat Leahy, and Chris Van Hollen, Scott Pruitt floundered when attempting to justify his scandals and corrupt behavior that has resulted in 16 investigations. In the process, he admitted to violating federal law when pressed. Some of the lowlights:
Today, embattled EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt faces a Senate hearing where he must answer for his unethical and illegal actions. He can try his best to shift the blame, but these scandals all have one thing in common: Scott Pruitt. Below are just the highlights of the long list of Pruitt’s wrongdoings.
Today, according to a letter from EPA Inspector General Arthur Elkins, Scott Pruitt had requested round the clock security before he was sworn in as EPA Administrator. His 24/7 security detail began on his first day in office. The request did not go through Office of the Inspector General (OIG) but instead the EPA Office of Criminal Enforcement, Forensics, and Training.
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is debuting the Office of Continuous Improvement, a new office tasked with making the agency more "lean." According to the EPA’s webpage on this, the office will result in “superior customer service.”
Even Scott Pruitt’s closest ally, Senator Jim Inhofe, knows Scott Pruitt’s ethical quandaries are deeply unpopular. Today, in an interview with Bloomberg News, Inhofe said he believes Pruitt “might get to the point where he doesn’t want to endure anymore” scrutiny over his abuse of taxpayer dollars. Inhofe then said Pruitt “could find something else to do that would be a lot less combative."
With new information breaking daily on embattled Scott Pruitt’s countless scandals, White House staff are fed up with trying to weather the Pruitt storm. According to the New York Times, White House staff are continuing to urge Donald Trump to fire Pruitt, calling Pruitt’s scandals “a bottomless pit.”
According to reporting by Axios, Donald Trump isn’t happy about all of the negative press Scott Pruitt’s been getting. A source close to Trump told Axios that the president raised the fact that a member of Pruitt’s press team has sought to sell negative stories about Interior secretary Ryan Zinke in conversation and said, "That's not good."
Today, as more and more of Scott Pruitt’s corruption scandals pile up and more and more high-level EPA staff flee Pruitt’s sinking ship, the Atlantic reports that Pruitt’s press staff actually tried to plant stories about Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke’s own ethical issues, “trying to take the heat off” Pruitt.
Yesterday, news broke by the Washington Post and New York Times shows that EPA administrator Scott Pruitt isn’t just friendly with lobbyists like his landlord - in fact, his expensive trips to Morocco and Italy were planned and accompanied by lobbyists Richard Smotkin and Leonard Leo. Here’s what we know so far: