The following article by Aaron Blake was posted on the Washington Post website July 6, 2018:
The Fix’s Aaron Blake breaks down why President Trump supported scandal-plagued EPA administrator Scott Pruitt for so long. (Video: Jenny Starrs/Photo: Melina Mara/The Washington Post)
This post has been updated.
The business of politics is often a cost-benefit analysis, if not outright gambling. People have a certain amount of political capital, comprising their base of support and internal favors, and they get to choose when and where to spend it — with no telling how their decisions will pan out or how much of a return, if any, they will reap.
Scott Pruitt was both a bad business decision and a horrible political gamble. Yet the White House kept throwing good money after bad on that bet. As indictments of Trump’s political decisions and acumen go, Pruitt ranks extremely high.
Put plainly: The White House for some reason thought this might get better, even as it was pretty clear to everyone outside 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. that Pruitt’s blatant indifference to ethical concerns ensured that it never would.