Under pressure from ethical scandals, US EPA chief Pruitt resigns

Trump announced the resignation on Twitter and said that the deputy administrator of the EPA, Andrew Wheeler, a former mining industry lobbyist, will become the interim chief of the company. regulatory agency Monday.

WASHINGTON: Scott Pruitt, head of the United States Environmental Protection Agency, who has delighted President Donald Trump with his efforts to reverse environmental regulation, resigned Thursday under heavy fire from a state of emergency. series of ethical controversies. months for his first-class travel at taxpayer expense, sumptuary spending for security, the installation of a $ 43,000 sound-proof booth in his office and accusations that he would have taken advantage of his position to receive favors from an upscale condo. Many Democratic legislators and even other Republicans had called for Pruitt's resignation.

"The incessant attacks against me personally, my family, are unprecedented and have taken a heavy toll on all of us," Pruitt said in his resignation letter.

Trump announced the resignation on Twitter and said the deputy administrator of the EPA Andrew Wheeler, a former lobby of the mining industry t, will become the interim head of the agency Monday. Wheeler is expected to resume Pruitt's efforts to roll back and streamline regulation.

"Scott has done a remarkable job, and I will always be grateful to him for that," writes Trump

. Proutt had approached and had offered to resign

Democrats and environmental groups applauded the departure of Pruitt, a close ally of the fossil fuel industry that has often questioned the science of climate change. finally finished. He made the creatures of the swamp blush with his shameless excesses. All tolerated because Trump loved his zeal. "The Environmental Working Group, a body overseeing public health and the environment, called Pruitt" undoubtedly the worst head of the agency in its 48-year history. "

Republican Senator Jim Inhofe Pruitt praised Pruitt's efforts to cut red tape for the industry.

" Scott Pruitt did an excellent job of reducing the regulatory burdens to which our country is facing while heading the Environmental Protection Agency. "19659003] " Politics Will Remain "

Advocates of the Environment, as well as the advocates of deregulation, said that Wheeler would likely pursue Pruitt's efforts to reduce environmental protections

.Wheeler also worked for Inhofe on efforts to combat climate legislation.

Wheeler "has the potential to 39, be equally destructive "» Michael Mikulka, President of Local 704 of the American Federation of Government Employees

"We urge him to engage i Immediately to repair the extensive damage caused to the work of the EPA under the direction of Pruitt.

Matt Dempsey, FTI energy lobbyist, said Wheeler will be less controversial than Pruitt.

"It will be less political and more direct in its approach to work, which is better for the Trump administration's agenda in the long run.The policy will pass but the policy will remain," he said. he says.

Some of the ethical charges against Pruitt involved jobs for his wife. The emails obtained by the Sierra Club environmental group showed that Pruitt had a contact with the general manager of a fast food chain about his wife becoming a franchise owner. The Washington Post reported that Pruitt had tried to find him a job at the Republican Attorneys General Association with a salary of $ 200,000 a year.

During the April Congressional testimony, Pruitt was unmoved for controversy. misstep. Legislators have asked tough questions on a range of issues, including increases for key assistants and retaliation reports against the EPA whistleblowers. Democrats have accused him of endless misconduct.

Pruitt was also known to question the human role in global climate change. As the former Attorney General of Oklahoma, he led a legal battle against the environmental rules put in place by the agency he will ultimately head.

Slashing regulations

Pruitt was one of the most effective law firms in Trump. members. Trump praised Pruitt for cutting regulations on the energy and manufacturing industries, including his decision to repeal the flagship program of former Democratic president Barack Obama to reduce carbon emissions from power plants, known as the name of Clean Power Plan

. by pushing Trump to pull the United States out of the 2015 Paris Global Climate Agreement to fight global warming.

Trump's restricted circle this year has been frustrated by the torrent of news on Pruitt controversies. including in Midwestern corn states, with its efforts to revise a US policy demanding biofuels like corn-based ethanol in gasoline. Republican Senator Chuck Grassley, also from Iowa, said Trump "made the right decision".

The Inspector General of the EPA was investigating the situation. The frequent use by Pruitt of first-class flights, which the agency stated that it was necessary for his safety after the threats from the public. The EPA also confirmed that Pruitt's safety details have joined on first-class flights, contributing to the high costs of his trip.

The travel documents show that the US government spent $ 17,000 in liquefied natural gas money, which does not fall under the purview of the EPA. The Washington Post reported that a longtime friend and lobbyist from Pruitt had helped organize the trip and then registered as a foreign agent representing Morocco.

Pruitt stated that his lease of $ 50 per night was approved by the agency. Although the Office of the Inspector General of the EPA stated that its review was based on incomplete information, the US Government Accountability Office concluded that the EPA had violated two laws by installing the $ 43,000 payphone without first warning legislators. Pruitt said that his staff never told him the cost.