Scott Pruitt resigns as EPA chief

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt has resigned amid numerous ethics investigations. EPA deputy Andrew Wheeler will take over as acting administrator on Monday.

marcnorman, Bigstockphoto.com
marcnorman, Bigstockphoto.com

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt has resigned amid numerous ethics investigations. EPA deputy Andrew Wheeler will take over as acting administrator on Monday.

Pruitt cited “unrelenting attacks” on himself and his family as one of the reasons for his resignation. Among the alleged ethics violations that dogged him throughout his tenure, which began in February 2017, included spending abuses, requests for special favors from aides, housing arrangements, security, and close relationships with lobbyists.

An EPA Office of Inspector General spokesperson said reviews of Pruitt’s actions while in office will continue, even after his resignation.

Before he was EPA administrator, Pruitt was attorney general of one of the largest oil-, natural gas- and grain-producing states, and he stood up against the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), an EPA-run program that requires transportation fuel sold in the United States to contain a minimum volume of renewable fuels. As EPA chief, he backed President Donald Trump’s agenda by reversing or delaying many Obama-era environmental rules, including those on climate change, automobile pollution standards and industrial pollutants.

U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said Trump made the right decision regarding Pruitt’s exit.

“Administrator Pruitt’s ethical scandals and his undermining of the president’s commitment to biofuels and Midwest farmers were distracting from the agency’s otherwise strong progress to free the nation of burdensome and harmful government regulations,” Grassley said in a statement. “Fewer things are more important for government officials than maintaining public trust. Administrator Pruitt, through his own actions, lost that trust. I hope Acting Administrator Wheeler views this as an opportunity to restore this administration’s standing with farmers and the biofuels industry. I’m looking forward to working with Acting Administrator Wheeler to do just that.”

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