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Donald Trump announced Thursday the departure of Scott Pruitt, Minister of the Environment stuck in an impressive cascade of scandals related to his lifestyle and his use of public funds.
For months, the US President remained deaf to the calls to separate from this man who became cumbersome, who was also one of his most zealous lieutenants.
Brick by brick, this fierce supporter of the withdrawal of the United States from the Paris agreement on the climate, at the express request of Donald Trump, was used to destroy the environmental record of Barack Obama, slashing the regulations one by one.
But over almost daily revelations, the situation had become untenable and the White House had openly expressed its exasperation in recent days.
"I accepted the resignation of Scott Pruitt from his position as leader of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)," said Trump in a tweet that does not mention at any time the cases against this former Attorney General of Oklahoma.
Multiple investigations have been launched for months by the Inspector General of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ), by two independent federal offices, as well as by the House of Representatives.
Welcoming the "exceptional work" done by Mr. Pruitt, 50, the White House tenant stated that Andrew Wheeler, two of the EPA, would take over
"He's been with me for a long time, it was Trump's support from the beginning (…) He's going to do a fantastic job," Trump said. Air Force One, en route to Montana
Scott Pruitt, who has always challenged any irregularities, took advantage of his position to improve his life and that of his family.
– "Good riddance" – [19659002] It all started with excessive travel expenses, first clbad or charter aircraft at the expense of the taxpayer, contrary to government rules. Then we discovered the plethoric number of bodyguards accompanying the administrator, 24 hours a day, even abroad, at a cost almost doubled compared to his predecessors.
M. Pruitt also had a secure telephone booth installed in his Washington office for $ 43,000 – an amount deemed excessive.
For his personal expenses, the man was apparently more of a starter.
He thus obtained by lobbyist friends, to be able to rent a big apartment in Washington $ 50 a night, only when he slept in the capital – an unbeatable price.
In doing so, he used some members of his cabinet for tasks personal, as personal badistants, to find him another apartment to rent, to find him tickets for a match, or to help his wife to find a job.
In his resignation letter, Scott Pruitt denounces "the incessant attacks" which he considers to have been a victim, stressing how difficult they have been for him and his family.
Beyond these cases that have hit the chronicles, it is his pr political positions that had made him the sworn enemy of environmental organizations.
When he was Oklahoma's "Attorney General", Scott Pruitt was scrapped in the courts against the Obama administration, hand in hand with the petroleum industry of which he was de facto one of the most effective lobbyists.
Three weeks after his arrival at the head of the EPA, Scott Pruitt baderted, contrary to the broad consensus of the scientific community, that human activities (via the use of fossil fuels) were not the main driver of the current global warming.
"Good riddance", tweeted the elected Democrat Earl Blumenauer.
"Given his complete failure to protect the air like water, and with 13 separate federal investigations of his work, the only question that remains is: why did it take so long? "
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