Trump's scandal-plagued environment chief resigns

World
Europe

US President Donald Trump on Thursday announced the departure of his environment chief, Scott Pruitt, who faced ever-growing ethics scandals over his spending and conduct in office.

"I have accepted the resignation of Scott Pruitt as the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency," tweeted the president, ending months of speculation about the future of the man he had tasked with dismantling former president Barack Obama's green legacy.

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt walks during an Independence Day picnic for military families on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, July 4, 2018. /VCG Photo

"Within the Agency Scott has done an outstanding job, and I will always be thankful to him for this," added Trump.

Pruitt, a former Oklahoma attorney general reported to have close ties to fossil fuel industries, had become the focus of multiple investigations in recent months, including by his own agency's inspector general, two other independent federal agencies and by Congress itself.

Trump tweeted that Pruitt's deputy, the former coal lobbyist Andrew Wheeler, would take over Monday as acting head of the agency.

US Environmental Protection Agency Deputy Administrator Andrew Wheeler is seen in this image released from Washington, DC, US, July 5, 2018. /VCG Photo

"He is a very environmental person. He's a big believer, and he's going to do a fantastic job," the president told journalists of Wheeler.

Trump's inner circle has had a revolving door since his first weeks in office, when he sacked national security adviser Michael Flynn.

Cabinet members who resigned or were ousted include health secretary Tom Price, secretary of state Rex Tillerson, national security adviser HR McMaster and veterans affairs chief David Shulkin.

Long list of controversies

The steady flow of negative news stories prompted multiple government investigators to open several inquiries into Pruitt. His EPA now faces about a dozen probes into its spending, ethics and policy decisions.

"It is extremely difficult for me to cease serving you in this role first because I count it as a blessing to be serving you in any capacity, but also because of the transformative work that is occurring," Pruitt said in his resignation letter.

But instead of taking responsibility, he pointed a finger at the pressure from critics including congressional Democrats.

"The unrelenting attacks on me personally, my family, are unprecedented and have taken a sizable toll on all of us," he said in the letter.

People protest before EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt testifies before a House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee hearing on the FY2019 Environmental Protection Agency budget in Washington, US, April 26, 2018. /VCG Photo

- Spending under scrutiny

It all began with a penchant for first-class and private air travel while on official business, a bill footed by the taxpayers, in contravention of usual government practice. Reports showed the EPA chief and staffers had spent at least 90,000 US dollars on travel in just a few days in January.

Then came reports of the large number of bodyguards he kept around him 24 hours a day, doubling the cost of his predecessors' security detail.

He also ordered the installation of a secure telephone cabin in his Washington office at the cost of 43,000 US dollars, which critics found excessive.

- Condo controversy

There was the question of his personal expenses. He rented an apartment linked to oil industry lobbyists in a pricey neighborhood of the capital for a mere 50 US dollars a night, a sum he only paid on nights he actually slept there.

- Other ethics complaints

He also tasked members of his staff with personal assignments, including finding him another apartment, getting his tickets to sporting events and trying to help his wife find a job.

Some of the tasks were outright bizarre, including a reported order to find and obtain a used Trump-brand mattress from a Trump hotel.

Stand with Trump

Pruitt stood with the president on issues that divided the administration, like pulling the United States out of the Paris climate agreement.

Early in his tenure, he caused an uproar when he said in an interview on CNBC's "Squawk Box" that carbon dioxide emissions from human activity are not the primary cause of climate change.

That view contradicts the findings of most climate scientists and the long-standing conclusion of the EPA itself.

As EPA administrator, Pruitt made the case that the agency's primary responsibility is to offer certainty to the energy companies, automakers and other business interests it regulates.

Twitter screenshot

He sidelined agency scientists, sought to ease environmental rules and encouraged staff to think of the companies it regulates as its customers.

Trump told journalists aboard Air Force One that there was "no final straw" that led to Pruitt's departure, and that the move – which he said had been in the works for "a couple of days" – was "very much up to him."

"He came to me and he said, 'I have such great confidence in the administration. I don't want to be a distraction.' And I think Scott felt that he was a distraction," said Trump.

Until now, Trump had stood by Pruitt – praising his work to roll back Obama-era environmental regulations that the president says hinder economic growth.

But the tone changed in recent weeks.

Last month, while praising Pruitt's "fantastic job" at the EPA, the president admitted, "I'm not happy about certain things, I'll be honest."

US President Donald Trump (L) listens to EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt after announcing his decision that the United States will withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement, in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, US, June 1, 2017. /VCG Photo

Pruitt's exit came just days after a woman confronted him at a Washington restaurant and called on him to resign.

(With inputs from agencies)