Tag: Trump EPA

Pruitt’s round-the-clock security has cost taxpayers nearly $3 million

The following article by Juliet Eilperin and Brady Dennis was posted on the Washington Post website April 7, 2018:

This post has been updated.

Scott Pruitt’s security detail has required far more resources than his predecessors’, costing taxpayers nearly $3 million when factoring in overtime and frequent travel for the agents who protect the Environmental Protection Agency administrator 24/7, according to an EPA official.

That figure, first reported by the Associated Press, sheds new light on the unprecedented level of security that has surrounded Pruitt since shortly after he arrived at the agency. Continue reading “Pruitt’s round-the-clock security has cost taxpayers nearly $3 million”

In His Haste to Roll Back Rules, Scott Pruitt, E.P.A. Chief, Risks His Agenda Image

The following article by Coral Davenport and Lisa Friedman was posted on the New York Times website April 7, 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 — As ethical questions threaten the Environmental Protection Agency administrator, Scott Pruitt, President Trump has defended him with a persuasive conservative argument: Mr. Pruitt is doing a great job at what he was hired to do, roll back regulations.

But legal experts and White House officials say that in Mr. Pruitt’s haste to undo government rules and in his eagerness to hold high-profile political events promoting his agenda, he has often been less than rigorous in following important procedures, leading to poorly crafted legal efforts that risk being struck down in court. Continue reading “In His Haste to Roll Back Rules, Scott Pruitt, E.P.A. Chief, Risks His Agenda Image”

AP sources: EPA chief spent millions on security and travel

The following article by Michael Biesecker was posted on the Associated Press website April 7, 2018:

WASHINGTON (AP) — 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 is more than three times the size of his predecessor’s part-time security contingent. Continue reading “AP sources: EPA chief spent millions on security and travel”

Lobbyist couple had to change the locks on Pruitt

The following article by Eliana Johnson was posted on the Politico website April 6, 2018:

People familiar with the EPA administrator’s condo rental say the arrangement, which has drawn intense scrutiny, was supposed to be a temporary fix, but he overstayed his welcome.

Scott Pruitt was only supposed to be living in the Capitol Hill condominium that has become a focal point of his latest ethics controversy for six weeks last year while he got settled in Washington – but the new Environmental Protection Agency administrator didn’t leave when his lease ended.

Instead, he asked the lobbyist couple who became his disgruntled landlords to revise his lease several times, according to two people with knowledge of the situation. Continue reading “Lobbyist couple had to change the locks on Pruitt”

White House has some serious legal questions to answer about Pruitt’s scandals

The following article by Natasha Geiling was posted on the ThinkProgress website April 6, 2018:

What did the White House know? How involved was energy lobbyist Steven Hart? And did Pruitt break the law at any point?

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt is facing a mounting ethics crisis, from revelations that he rented a luxury Capitol Hill condofrom a lobbyist couple for $50 a night to allegations that he reassigned senior staffwho questioned his spending habits at the agency.

This week, as a fuller picture of the lobbyist-linked condo deal has emerged, both Democrat and Republican politicians have called for Pruitt to resign as administrator. But even as new details continue to emerge about Pruitt’s conduct, several key questions remain unanswered. Continue reading “White House has some serious legal questions to answer about Pruitt’s scandals”

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”

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”

The Trump administration just disbanded a federal advisory committee on climate change

The following article by Juliet EIlperin was posted on the Washington Post website August 20, 2017:

President Trump speaks about the U.S. role in the Paris climate change accord in the Rose Garden of the White House in June, 2017. (AP)

The Trump administration has decided to disband the federal advisory panel for the National Climate Assessment, a group aimed at helping policymakers and private-sector officials incorporate the government’s climate analysis into long-term planning.

The charter for the 15-person Advisory Committee for the Sustained National Climate Assessment — which includes academics as well as local officials and corporate representatives — expires Sunday. On Friday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s acting administrator, Ben Friedman, informed the committee’s chair that the agency would not renew the panel.

The National Climate Assessment is supposed to be issued every four years but has come out only three times since passage of the 1990 law calling for such analysis. The next one, due for release in 2018, already has become a contentious issue for the Trump administration. Continue reading “The Trump administration just disbanded a federal advisory committee on climate change”