Lauren Lantry, lauren.lantry@sierraclub.org
This morning, Donald Trump rejected the idea that Scott Pruitt could be Attorney General and admitted that Scott Pruitt is “under siege.” Trump has now given Pruitt the same vote of confidence that he gave Rex Tillerson, David Shulkin, and H.R. McMaster before they were fired.
Meanwhile, yesterday’s deluge of new Scott Pruitt scandals reveal that he isn’t just mired in corruption and abusing taxpayer dollars for his luxury: he’s engaging in vindictive behavior against his own employees who tried to keep him out of trouble, he didn’t even pay the rent on his sweetheart deal with a fossil fuel lobbyist on time, and he wants to be treated like he is the President.
Questions for Sarah Huckabee Sanders:
How does Donald Trump feel about Scott Pruitt reportedly wanting “to be treated like he was the President”?
What is the President’s response to Scott Pruitt defying the Trump White House on numerous occasions, including giving raises to friends from Oklahoma that were previously rejected by the White House and by giving television interviews on Fox after the White House expressly told him not to?
Scott Pruitt is under at least 8 federal investigations. You’ve said the White House is looking into his behavior - which scandal is the White House looking at specifically and will it be expanding to encompass all of Pruitt’s actions?
How many more embarrassing headlines about Pruitt’s behavior will the White House accept?
Background:
“He wanted to be treated like he was the president.” That’s the quote that is sure to bother Donald Trump in the disturbing New York Times story that revealed more about Pruitt’s spending habits, security demands, and his vindictive behavior. And it came from David Schnare -- who is no environmentalist, as he’s a climate denier who worked under Trump and right-wing lawyer.
Pruitt doesn’t just want to be treated like the President: he doesn’t want to take orders from the President either. The Washington Post reports Pruitt was told not to do television interviews after news broke in The Atlantic of going around the White Houses’ back to give his Oklahoma buddies massive raises, but Pruitt did anyway. Pruitt then botched his TV appearances, falsely denying knowledge of the raises. It appears Trump is taking notice, cancelling an event with Pruitt.
Not one to let go of a good thing (for himself), The New York Times reports Pruitt has reassigned or demoted EPA staff who have tried to warn him about with using taxpayer dollars to fund Pruitt’s lavish lifestyle. CBS News also reported that the EPA Security chief who told Pruitt he could not use emergency sirens to cut through traffic was reassigned and replaced with someone now under scrutiny for his side business.
Pruitt has tried to use sirens and strobes to weave through traffic — a perk more commonly associated with the presidency — to make his dinner reservation at a fancy french restaurant, redesigned his office with a desk that rivals the Resolute Desk in the Oval office, and when not chartering military planes and private jets, defaults to flying first class. He even thinks he’s too good to work a full day, taking naps in the midafternoon that are so heavy his security detail had to break down the door at the luxury townhome that was part of a sweetheart deal he secured with a fossil fuel lobbyist. Apparently, his concerns about security don’t extend to giving his taxpayer-funded security staff a key to the place he is staying. Pruitt can still rest easy, as taxpayers covered the cost of the door.
Speaking of that townhouse - Pruitt calls it an “AirBnb situation,” but he didn’t seem to have a credit card on file with the fossil fuel lobbyist who’s name was scratched out on the lease. That’s because Pruitt apparently did not even pay his way-below-market rent on time.
To top it all off, Pruitt’s landlord is now being fined by DC government for failing to acquire the license needed to rent out his luxury condo.
Trump may have campaigned on draining the swamp, but by placing Pruitt at the head of the EPA, he’s only made it muckier. Pruitt is exactly what’s expected out of DC: a man with no regard for the taxpayer, who wastes our money while he cavorts with lobbyists, and expects to be treated like the President.
More updates:
April 5, Questions for Sarah Huckabee Sanders: Pruitt's Situation Goes from Bad to Unsustainable
April 4, Sanders Refuses to Say Trump Has Confidence in Pruitt
April 4, Scandal Ridden Scott Pruitt Lies on Fox News
April 3, Questions for Sarah Huckabee Sanders: Pruitt is Flailing Edition
April 2, What They Are Saying on Pruitt’s Condogate: “Grifter,” “Unravelling,” “Criminal”
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