President Donald Trump announced today (July 5) that Scott Pruitt, the former Oklahoma Attorney General he handpicked to lead the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), has resigned from his post. Making the announcement via Twitter, Trump also indicated that the agency’s Deputy Administrator Andrew Wheeler will assume acting leadership of the EPA starting Monday (July 9).
Pruitt’s resignation comes amid a whirlwind of accusations and investigations into apparent misconduct at the helm of EPA. The ethical red flags raised by Pruitt’s conduct included allegations that he paid a pro-fossil fuel lobbyist a mere $50 per night to rent a Washington, D.C., townhouse, that he sought to use his position to land his wife a “business opportunity” with the chief executive of fast food restaurant Chick-fil-a, and that he enjoyed lavish travel arrangements and treated political appointees to healthy raises, among other activities. Recently, a growing number of conservatives joined the chorus ...
