Scott Pruitt resigns: which ultimately cost him his job at the EPA

This week, we saw President Donald Trump accept the resignation of the Environmental Protection Agency's administrator, Scott Pruitt, whose extraordinary malpractice record finally seemed to do more harm than good for the president

. According to the New York Times, CNN's report suggests that Pruitt suggested that Attorney General Jeff Sessions be charged by Trump for Pruitt to be able to head the Department of Justice:

The President had been discussing this idea for months. it was a good idea, according to two people familiar with the discussions. But seeing these deliberations aired publicly, amid a series of other damaging reports, drew Trump 's attention, said a person close to the president.

In an administration headed by a president who made "you are fired" his slogan, and who unceremoniously discharged other subordinates, the EPA administrator plagued by scandal seemed to have understood the secret of longevity. But ultimately, it was Pruitt's career ambitions that undermined him.

Pruitt's list of indiscretions soon became long, comical and (ultimately) embarrbading for the White House: he built a $ 43,000 payphone. He had a scout on a used Trump hotel mattress. He sent security guards to find lotion used in Ritz-Carlton hotels. He ate too often at the White House

Then there were more serious ethical and legal violations, such as getting a co-ownership agreement from a lobbyist, deleting calendar records and firing an employee to object, and use his job to try to get a $ 200,000 job a year for his wife.

That he persisted for so long showed up where his tribe was willing to go to excuse or dismiss his indiscretions while he was shaping the EPA to meet the needs of fuels fossils, chemical manufacturers and car manufacturers. Pruitt remained in order on Wednesday, attending a July 4th White House party with other Cabinet officials.

Yet Thursday, President Trump finally asked for Pruitt's resignation and Bloomberg reported that the administrator was "devastated". are some of the factors that have kept it in place for so long.

Pruitt was late to board the Trump train, but he climbed it to the end

In 2016, Pruitt told a Tulsa radio station that "Donald Trump at the White House would be more abusive to the Constitution than Barack Obama. "

But Pruitt shot a hard 180 on Trump and became one of the president's most obsequious advocates. Unlike former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who called Trump "bading moron," Pruitt never said anything negative about the president after taking office. Pruitt called Trump "brave" for announcing that the United States was planning to withdraw from the Paris climate deal, for example.

He quickly became a close personal ally of the president. "The two often speak, and the president likes to discuss his negative view of Jeff Sessions, the attorney general, with the EPA leader," according to the New York Times.

Pruitt feeds the voracious Trump ego , became a confidant and fell back on critics.He also played his conservative principles and emphasized his evangelical faith, which helped to isolate him from the growing controversy.

Even his resignation letter was filled with sickening sycophany:

My desire to serve you has always been to bless you as you make important decisions for the American people.I believe you are president today because of the providence of God.I believe that the same providence has brought me to your service, I pray as I have served you that I have blessed you and allowed you to lead the American people effectively.Thank you again Mr. President for the honor of serving you and I wish you good luck in everything you have put at your disposal.

Trump also liked Pruitt a lot, at least rhetorically. "Scott is a great guy," Trump told the press this week aboard Air Force One. "He came to see me and told me that I had so much confidence in the administration that I did not want to be a distraction … He will go and do great things and I will not be a distraction. will have a wonderful life, I hope. "

Confronted with allegations of impropriety, Pruitt deployed Trump's book: denying bad deeds, blaming subordinates, and attacking the media.

Pruitt delivered for Trump like few others in the Cabinet

There was a robust back-and-forth about whether Pruitt was really effective in implementing his program at # 39; EPA. Dismantling environmental rules is an arduous and tedious process. Some of Pruitt's proposals are mired in litigation and others have been thwarted because officials have not followed the proper procedures.

Pruitt managed to delay some regulations, but many of his announcements of new policy changes were just that: announcements. The United States can not withdraw from the Paris agreement before 2020, for example. The EPA is just beginning the process of revising the rules of vehicle emission. And if Pruitt wants to cancel Obama's clean water rule, he must find an alternative that can withstand legal action. Even Clean Power Plan Agreement

A hostile Congress after the November elections could slow that progress and another administration in 2020 could reverse a good deal.

But that's without counting. Pruitt, and more importantly, Trump, treated these announcements and delays as victories. That's what Congress members did.

Corey T. Dennis / Environmental Protection Agency

"We are still interested in ways to put an end to federal excesses and c & # 39; is something important for my constituents in Tennessee, "said Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) at Pruitt at one of its hearings last April. "They are very grateful that we were late in the [Waters of the United States] rule."

Even with control over the three branches of government, the Trump administration struggled to advance its agenda. He failed to repeal Obamacare, for example. Regulatory setbacks, or even announcements, are therefore valuable points within the board. At least 45 environmental regulations (the New York Times counted 76) have been repealed or reduced since Trump took office, with at least 25 at the EPA.

Pruitt's religion and conservatism forged a bridge to Trump's base

Trump's religiosity and his conservative references were still suspicious, in belief and in action. And Pruitt served as a precious glitch to voters who care about this kind of thing.

Vox's Tara Isabella Burton deepens the way Pruitt used her faith to guide her political agenda, but noted that Pruitt's evangelical beliefs also protected her:

Proust's Evangelical Good Faith and his ability to engage with the evangelicals The leaders who increasingly strengthen Trump's base may have helped him overcome some of his scandals and last as long as he did.

During his tenure, he participated in a Bible study with other Cabinet members. Jeff Sessions, Ben Carson, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, and Rick Perry, Secretary of Energy. Responding to allegations that he abused his office to help his wife open the Chick-fil-A restaurant, Pruitt said he was interested because Chick-fil-A is "a franchise of faith."

Pruitt, reported Margaret Talbot of New Yorker:

Many types of conservative think-tanks also like Pruitt, to give a break to the industry; to vigorously pursue an anti-regulatory and federalist program; and not to be particularly worried about global warming.

Pruitt's work at the EPA pleased Trump's major donors, such as coal baron Robert Murray. The conservative media has also slavishly defended Pruitt. In fact, firing Pruitt can hurt Trump in certain circles.

"The President should have better protected him," said Doug Deason, a Dallas donor and prominent Trump supporter who raised funds for Trump America First's PAC at the Washington Post. "I am extremely disappointed – he is the only cabinet secretary to have done what he had been told to do – it is one of the only big blunders of his administration."

The fall of Pruitt turned on that of Trump

The mountain of allegations of corruption did not move the needle of the White House, but the internal staff drama (The next study Biblical Pruitt and Sessions could be a bit awkward). This puts Pruitt in agreement with Tillerson, former Minister of Health and Human Services, Tom Price, and former Secretary of Veterans Affairs David Shulkin. These officials all had their own ethical problems, but alienating Trump was the main reason they were fired.

The conservative media, including outlets that once praised Pruitt, also began to turn against him.

Pruitt Assistant Administrator, Andrew Wheeler, who was previously a coal lobbyist, an EPA official, and a Senator James Inhofe's staff member (R -OK), takes over the EPA and will likely keep a profile lower than Pruitt. But with an impending election in November, Trump may miss having a fighter in his corner who can pull up the score.