Tag: Scott Pruitt

Pruitt directed staff to approve raises for top aides: report

The following article by John Bowden was posted on the Hill website April 5, 2018:

© UPI Photo

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) head Scott Pruitt instructed staff to approve raises for two top aides, The Washington Post reportedThursday, a day after the EPA chief implied he wasn’t involved in the decisions.

The Post cites two EPA officials and one White House official who say that Pruitt instructed his staff members to approve the raises for two aides who had previously served under him in Oklahoma, though did not personally carry out the raises.

The news comes after Pruitt told Fox News in an interview that he had “learned” of the raises and taken steps to find out “how it took place.”

Continue reading “Pruitt directed staff to approve raises for top aides: report”

E.P.A. Officials Sidelined After Questioning Scott Pruitt

The following article by Eric Lipton, Kenneth P. Vogel and Lisa Friedman was posted on the New York Times website April 5, 2018:

Employees at the Environmental Protection Agency faced career repercussions after questioning the spending of its administrator, Scott Pruitt, center. Credit: Andrew Harnik/AP

WASHINGTON — At least five officials at the Environmental Protection Agency, four of them high-ranking, were reassigned or demoted, or requested new jobs in the past year after they raised concerns about the spending and management of the agency’s administrator, Scott Pruitt.

The concerns included unusually large spending on office furniture and first-class travel, as well as certain demands by Mr. Pruitt for security coverage, such as requests for a bulletproof vehicle and an expanded 20-person protective detail, according to people who worked for or with the E.P.A. and have direct knowledge of the situation.

Mr. Pruitt bristled when the officials — four career E.P.A. employees and one Trump administration political appointee — confronted him, said the people, who were not authorized to speak publicly. Continue reading “E.P.A. Officials Sidelined After Questioning Scott Pruitt”

Pruitt and allies launch campaign to save his job

The following article by Emily Holden, Alex Guillén and Andrew Restuccia was posted on the Politico website April 4, 2018:

But the White House says it’s ‘reviewing’ the ethical storm surrounding the EPA chief.

EPA chief Scott Pruitt and his allies in the administration are on a mission to save his job — offering a blitz of interviews to typically friendly media outlets while separately accusing a former agency staffer of a cascade of damaging leaks.But the White House made it clear Wednesday that President Donald Trump is not pleased with all the negative headlines surrounding him.Pruitt’s challenges appeared to deepen when White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders — asked why Trump is “OK” with the leader of the Environmental Protection Agency renting a condo from a lobbyist for $50 a night — responded that “the president’s not.”

“We’re reviewing the situation,” she said, adding: “The president thinks that he’s done a good job, particularly on the deregulation front. But again, we take this seriously and we’re looking into it and we’ll let you know when we finish.” Continue reading “Pruitt and allies launch campaign to save his job”

A swamp monster is running the EPA

The following commentary from its Editorial Board was posted on the Washington Post website April 2, 2018:

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt is facing scrutiny for a condo rental agreement linked to a fossil fuel lobbyist in D.C. (Reuters)

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY Administrator Scott Pruitt’s ethics were already in question after he wasted taxpayer money on expensive plane tickets and hotels, a story he tried to rebut, misleadingly, on conservative talk radio last week. Then, last Thursday, ABC News reportedthat he benefited from a sweetheart deal that allowed him to live in a high-rent area of Washington while paying a relative pittance. His landlord? The wife of an energy and environmental lobbyist.

EPA officials tried to bury the story in official releases from ethics officers in the general counsel’s office, arguing that Mr. Pruitt paid rent for his single bedroom in a Capitol Hill condo. According to Bloomberg News, these officials did not review the administrator’s living arrangements in advance. Their after-the-fact defense of their boss is unpersuasive. Continue reading “A swamp monster is running the EPA”

Christie on Pruitt controversy: ‘I don’t know how you survive this one’

The following article by Brett Samuels was posted on the Hill website April 1, 2018:

Former NJ Gov. Chris Christie on This Week Credit: Screen Grab

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) on Sunday expressed skepticism that Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt will keep his job in the wake of a scandal over his living arrangement in Washington, D.C.

ABC News reported last week that Pruit rented a bedroom in a Capitol Hill condo that is co-owned by the wife of an energy lobbyist.

“If Mr. Pruitt’s going to go, it’s because he never should have been there in the first place,” Christie said on ABC’s “This Week.” Continue reading “Christie on Pruitt controversy: ‘I don’t know how you survive this one’”

Scott Pruitt, E.P.A. Chief, Rented Residence From Wife of Energy Lobbyist

The following article by Brad Plumer and Eric Lipton was posted on the New York Times website March 30, 2018:

Scott Pruitt, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, has been the subject of questions from the House Oversight Committee about his travel expenses. Credit: Doug Mills/The New York Times

WASHINGTON — Scott Pruitt, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, rented a residence in Washington in 2017 that was partly owned by the wife of a top energy lobbyist whose firm, according to disclosure forms, conducted business before the E.P.A. that same year.

While the agency said on Friday that the arrangement was consistent with federal ethics rules, the developments come as Mr. Pruitt is already under fire from Congress regarding unrelated ethics questions. In February, the Republican chairman of the House Oversight Committee ordered Mr. Pruitt to turn over documents related to his first-class travel at taxpayer expense, questioning whether he had received the appropriate waivers to do so. Continue reading “Scott Pruitt, E.P.A. Chief, Rented Residence From Wife of Energy Lobbyist”

Trump officials prepare to undo fuel-efficiency targets despite some automakers’ misgivings

The following article by Juliet Eilperin and Brady Dennis was posted on the Washington Post website March 29, 2018:

Fuel-efficiency standards that automakers must meet by 2025 for cars and light trucks soon could be rolled back by the Trump administration. Credit: Nikki Kahn/The Washington Post

Top Trump administration officials are engaged in a heated debate over how to undo federal fuel-efficiency targets for cars and light trucks, as manufacturers voice concern that a major rollback of an Obama-era rule could go too far and fracture the nation’s auto market.

The internal negotiations over relaxing carbon-emissions limits for cars and SUVs slated to be sold in model years 2022 to 2025 underscore the challenge officials face in trying to fulfill President Trump’s 2017 promise to ease the regulatory burden on Detroit.

Some of the same companies that had pressed for action worry that they will be forced to comply with two standards: the stricter specifications that California imposes on its massive auto market and a separate requirement for the rest of the country. Continue reading “Trump officials prepare to undo fuel-efficiency targets despite some automakers’ misgivings”

Leaked memo shows EPA told employees to lie about climate science

The following article by Caroline Orr was posted on the ShareBlue website March 28, 2018:

EPA Director Scott Pruitt just upped the ante of his war on science.

Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP

A leaked memo reveals that the Environmental Protection Agency(EPA) sent employees a list of talking points on Tuesday instructing them to cast doubt on the scientific consensus about climate change.

The internal EPA memo, which was obtained by Huff Post, includes a set of eight “approved talking points” sent to EPA staffers by the agency’s Office of Public Affairs.

The talking points instruct employees to highlight scientific uncertainty and lack of evidence linking human activity to climate change — statements that are contradicted by the 2017 federal climate assessment, which concluded that “it is extremely likely that human activities, especially emissions of greenhouse gases, are the dominant cause of the observed warming since the mid-20th century.” Continue reading “Leaked memo shows EPA told employees to lie about climate science”

While you weren’t looking: 5 stories from the Trump administration that aren’t about John Bolton

The following article by A.P. Joyce was posted on the mic.com website March 23, 2018:

This week, the news cycle has centered squarely on the ongoing Russia probe and unfolding drama at the White House, and excluded many other political news developments.

President Donald Trump began the week by attacking special counsel Robert Mueller specifically, rather than the Russia probe in general, for the first time on Twitter. He kept up his criticism as the week dragged on, even as his top lawyer in the case, attorney John Dowd, unexpectedly resigned on Thursday. Continue reading “While you weren’t looking: 5 stories from the Trump administration that aren’t about John Bolton”

Buried, altered, silenced: 4 ways government climate information has changed since Trump took office

The following article by Morgan Currie, Postdoctoral Fellow at the Digital Civil Society Lab, Stanford University, and Britt S. Paris, Ph.D. Student in Information Studies, University of California/Los Angeles was posted on the Conversation website March 21, 2018:

© Getty

After Donald Trump won the presidential election, hundreds of volunteers around the U.S. came together to “rescue” federal data on climate change, thought to be at risk under the new administration. “Guerilla archivists,” including ourselves, gathered to archive federal websites and preserve scientific data.

But what has happened since? Did the data vanish? Continue reading “Buried, altered, silenced: 4 ways government climate information has changed since Trump took office”