Scott Pruitt

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EPA Watchdog Puts Price on Scott Pruitt's Travel

Suggests agency try to recover $124K over former chief's expenses

(Newser) - Scott Pruitt resigned as EPA chief in July over allegations that included improper spending on travel. On Thursday, the agency's watchdog put a price tag on that: $124,000. The EPA's inspector general looked at 40 trips Pruitt took or scheduled in 2017 that cost a total of...

Watchdog: Massive Spending on Pruitt's Security Not Justified

Office of the Inspector General report released

(Newser) - A whopping $3.5 million was spent on round-the-clock security for former EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, one of many agency expenditures that made waves before Pruitt departed the role in July—and a new report from the EPA's internal watchdog says the agency failed to prove the security spending...

Pruitt Placed Single Call From His $43K Phone Booth

How many incoming calls the former EPA head received is unknown

(Newser) - Scott Pruitt is no longer head of the Environmental Protection Agency, but the saga of his $43,000 phone booth isn't quite over. The Washington Post is out with one last financial tidbit courtesy of the Sierra Club, which sued the EPA to access records related to Pruitt. It...

Pruitt's Departure: His Decision or Forced by Trump?
Was an 'Embarrassing'
Story Pruitt's Undoing?
THE RUNDOWN
Jul 6, 2018 6:51 AM CDT

Was an 'Embarrassing' Story Pruitt's Undoing?

And more on EPA administrator's sudden 'resignation'

(Newser) - There was no "final straw" that led to the departure of Scott Pruitt from the EPA, per President Trump, who says it was Pruitt who asked to step down, the Hill reports. "It was very much up to him," Trump said when pressed by reporters about Thursday'...

Embattled EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt Is Out

He's stepping down; Andrew Wheeler will assume acting administrator position

(Newser) - Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt resigned Thursday amid ethics investigations of outsized security spending, first-class flights, and a sweetheart condo lease, the AP reports. Pruitt had appeared Wednesday at a White House picnic for Independence Day, wearing a red-checked shirt and loafers with gold trim. Trump gave him and...

Woman With Toddler Confronts Pruitt During Lunch

She tells EPA chief he should resign

(Newser) - Scott Pruitt became the latest Trump administration official to have an uncomfortable dining experience when he was confronted Monday by a woman—and her 2-year-old son. Kristin Mink says Pruitt was three tables away from her when she had lunch at the Teaism restaurant in Washington, DC, and she decided...

2 of Scott Pruitt's Closest Aides Resign
More Departures Roil EPA
Jun 6, 2018 4:57 PM CDT

More Departures Roil EPA

The EPA chief is facing growing scrutiny over his management decisions

(Newser) - Two of Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt's closest aides—senior counselor Sarah Greenwalt and scheduling director Millan Hupp—resigned Wednesday, sources tell CNN and other outlets. The two join a number of other political appointees who have left the agency, and ratchet up pressure on Pruitt, who is...

Latest Pruitt Revelation Involves Chick-fil-A

EPA head used aide to help him as he tried to get his wife a franchisee position

(Newser) - The latest odd revelation in the saga of Scott Pruitt's activities since becoming the head of the Environmental Protection Agency: Pruitt at one point attempted to use "his official position and EPA staff" to get his wife a job, as the Washington Post puts it. That job? Chick-fil-A...

EPA Head Wanted Old Mattress From Trump Hotel, Aide Says

Scott Pruitt reportedly had a top aide perform personal chores for him

(Newser) - Controversial Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt had a top aide seek a used mattress from the Trump International Hotel and perform other personal chores for him, including house-hunting and booking personal travel, according to testimony released Monday. Per the AP , Millan Hupp's transcribed interview last month before...

The EPA Spent $1,560 on a Dozen Fountain Pens

Plus $1,670 on personalized journals

(Newser) - More controversial expenditures at the Environmental Protection Agency have been revealed thanks to a Freedom of Information Act request: Last year, one of EPA chief Scott Pruitt's top aides spent $1,560 on fountain pens and $1,670 on personalized journals, the Washington Post reports. The order from Tiny...

AP Reporter Grabbed, Shoved Out of EPA Building

EPA has since reversed course, allowed reporters into meeting

(Newser) - The Environmental Protection Agency reversed course Tuesday and allowed a reporter for the Associated Press to cover a meeting on water contaminants after she was earlier grabbed by the shoulders and shoved out of the building by a security guard, the AP reports. The AP journalist, Ellen Knickmeyer, said that...

Congressman to Pruitt: If I Were Your Boss, 'I'd Get Rid of You'

EPA administrator blames scandals on staffers, Trump enemies

(Newser) - Scott Pruitt blamed staffers, the media, his job's "steep learning curve," and President Trump's enemies for numerous controversies during hours of testimony before Congress Thursday. "Let me be very clear: I have nothing to hide as its relates to how I've run the agency...

Pruitt's New EPA Rule Would Make Some Science Off-Limits

EPA head says he's pushing for transparency in decision-making

(Newser) - There's a contentious new issue surrounding Environmental Protection Agency head Scott Pruitt, and this one has nothing to do with security . Pruitt on Tuesday suggested a new rule that would allow the EPA to only make use of scientific studies whose data has been made publicly available in full....

White House Investigates Pruitt's $43K Phone Booth

39 senators call for EPA chief to step down

(Newser) - Scott Pruitt's week isn't getting any easier: White House budget director Mick Mulvaney said Wednesday that he's planning to investigate the embattled EPA chief's activities, which include allegedly violating the law by spending $43,000 in taxpayer funds on a soundproof phone booth for his office,...

Scott Pruitt's $43K Phone Booth Broke the Law

Because the EPA didn't notify Congress, a government watchdog finds

(Newser) - It may be a fresh week for Scott Pruitt , but it's not one void of uncomfortable headlines. ABC News reports a government watchdog has determined the EPA "violated section 710” of the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act when it spent $43,000 on a "secure"...

He Approved Report on Threats Against Pruitt, Was Fired

EPA implies timing of Mario Caraballo's dismissal was coincidence

(Newser) - A career staffer with the EPA is out of a job, and the timing of Mario Caraballo's dismissal is grabbing headlines. Politico spoke with two sources who say the deputy associate administrator of the EPA's Office of Homeland Security was the one who signed off on an internal...

Scott Pruitt Has 20-Member Full-Time Security Detail

AP reports that's more than 3 times the part-time contingent his predecessor had

(Newser) - Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt's concern with his safety came at a steep cost to taxpayers as his swollen security detail blew through overtime budgets and at times diverted officers away from investigating environmental crimes. Altogether, the agency spent millions of dollars for a 20-member full-time detail that...

Trump Praises EPA Chief Pruitt Amidst Controversy

Other White House officials don't sound so sure about his future

(Newser) - White House officials sounded increasingly doubtful Thursday about the future of embattled Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt, even as President Donald Trump appeared to throw him a public lifeline, the AP reports. Speaking Thursday to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump used a series of superlatives to describe Pruitt....

White House Stewing Over Scott Pruitt's Condo Rental

'His goose is cooked,' says EPA source

(Newser) - Scott Pruitt may be in hot water again—now for renting an apartment from the wife of an energy lobbyist who's had business with the Environmental Protection Agency, CNN reports. Pruitt, who heads the EPA, leased a room in the Washington, DC, condo for just $50 a night on...

EPA Prepares to Gut Obama's Signature Move on Autos

Chief Scott Pruitt plans to weaken fuel efficiency standards set to go in place

(Newser) - The EPA is preparing to make a big move as early as next week to weaken landmark fuel-efficiency goals put in place by the Obama administration, reports the New York Times . The Obama-era rules would have required cars and SUVs to hit 55mpg by 2025, but Trump and EPA chief...

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