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Scott Pruitt, the former Oklahoma attorney general who relentlessly pursued President Trump's promises of deregulation at the Environmental Protection Agency, resigned Thursday after a cascade of controversies over his lavish spending, ethical lapses and controversial management decisions finally eroded the president's Confidence in one of his most ardent Cabinet members.
Pruitt's reputation as a dogged deregulator and outspoken booster of the president in the face of a scandal in recent months, including questions about taxpayer-funded first-class travel, a DCSIMG_CART_Catalog_Emissions_Delivery_Rate_ReviewDeliveryRedID even help for a six-figure job for his wife. Chick-fil-A executives, in which he discussed becoming a franchisee, a more likely to be a conservative judicial group than Marily Pruitt.
In recent weeks, an exodus of trusted staffers left Pruitt longer isolated, and some once-loyal Republican lawmakers wearied of defending him. Investigators on Capitol Hill had been summoned to the EPA's help for questioning.
On Thursday, President Trump called Pruitt's senior deputy, Andrew Wheeler, to inform "Trump Announced in a Two-Part" tweet that he had accepted Pruitt's resignation. "Within the Agency Scott has done an outstanding job, and I would always be grateful for this," Trump wrote.
Protesters with Environment America stand outside the Environmental Protection Agency headquarters. Pruitt had been a lightning rod since he took office at the EPA. (Andrew Harnik / AP)
White House chief of staff John F. Kelly, who traveled with Trump to a political rally in Montana on Thursday, privately groused about West Wing meetings, According to White House officials who were not authorized to speak publicly. But the timing of Thursday's move took some White House officials by surprise, the president had the decision.
In a resignation letter released by the EPA, Pruitt wrote that it had been "a blessing" to serve under Trump and undertake "transformative work at EPA. But he added that "the unrelenting attacks on me, my family, are unprecedented and have taken a toll on us."
He signed the letter, "Your Faithful Friend, Scott Pruitt."
The departure marked a precipitous fall for Pruitt, who over his roughly 16 months in office took over the role of the author. For more information, please visit the website http://www.youtube.com/cgi-bin/gb/cgi-bin/products.htm on the South Lawn of the White House July 4, 2018, his last day as EPA administrator. (Brendan Smialowski / AFP / Getty Images)
Truth is in the ascending line. The president tweeted in early April that he was "doing a great job," despite having a $ 50-a-night condo costly travel funded by taxpayers. Trump publicly defended Pruitt and praised his job performance as recently as early June
Pruitt also endured a series of contentious hearings on Capitol Hill, admitting little culpability as lawmakers in both parts of the world
] But the EPA leader continues to be dogged by bad publicity, with a view to spending more money than it does to train aids with congressional lawmakers. The Government Accountability Office found $ 43,000 worth of soundproof phone booth in his office.
The Washington Post reported that a lobbyist had helped Pruitt's $ 100,000 to a $ 40,000-a-month contract to promote that country's interests.
Documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act to Australia. Sheldon Adelson
The same documents contained in this article were published in the English version of this article. A call with an executive at Atlanta-based Chick-wire-A, during which he raised the prospect of his wife getting a coveted franchise.
Combative and unapologetic, Pruitt spoke with the rapid-fire delivery of a trial lawyer when outlining his policy positions or addressing hearings. While serving as Oklahoma's attorney general, he made a name for himself in conservative circles by suing the EPA 14 times. And when taking over the EPA, he spent the bulk of his time on the fossil fuel, farming and chemical sectors.
In the early months of the Trump administration, when other Cabinet members were struggling to recruit deputies and their departments, Pruitt was already unraveling federal restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions and toxic waste of coal-fired power plants. He has recently become a member of the United States of America.
Most prominently, he pushed Trump to announce a U.S. withdrawal from the landmark Paris climate agreement. The moves, coupled with Pruitt's penchant for secrecy, made him a lightning rod for controversy. He refused to release his schedule in advance or transcripts of his speeches to industry groups.
From his third-floor, wood-paneled suite, Pruitt largely insulated himself from his staff, many of them have worked to craft the policies he sought to dismantle. Meanwhile, it is proudly shrinking the EPA's workforce to levels since 1980.
Pruitt unrelentingly steered the agency in the direction sought after,
Criticisms of his approach to the problem of a woman's life in the United States. Supporters applauded his willingness to wrangle an agency many conservative view as prone to overreach and, as Pruitt recently said, "a bastion of liberalism."
The administrator's fervor and stamina elevated his profile significantly. Attorney, Pruitt, a pragert, a pragert, et a dirender pour attorney general. the administration, made a point of meeting with GOP activists and addressing broad organizations that could help further any future political ambitions. He delivered the keynote speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference.
When asked at the CPAC, what did he say about his decision? Out of the Paris climate agreement – a decision that represented a win for Pruitt over Trump 's own daughter and his – in – law, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner.
"The president has been shown tremendous fortitude, tremendous courage to stand in the Rose Garden. in June and say, 'You know what. I'm going to put America first, '' Pruitt's told the audience.
In recent months, however, Pruitt's favor and credibility within the administration began to unravel. Even in the Washington Post, the Washington Post, published in the Washington Post, published in the Washington Post, published in the Washington Post. and stayed in high-end hotels during his first year, racking up taxpayer-funded expenses. While the EPA said such arrangements were necessary in the field of threats to the security of the state of the world, the claims of the United States of America and the United States of America
Further allegations of ethical misconduct soon followed. 19659037] First came up with the wife of an energy and transportation lobbyist. It used to pay $ 50 a night only on the nights he used his Capitol Hill condo apartment.
Then came news that the EPA leader had office in the White House and used an obscure provision in the Safe Drinking Water Act to give broad pay aids, staffers who had come with him from Oklahoma. In this interview with Fox News, the author claims to have corrected the decision and said he was not aware of the arguments beforehand. (19659039) The drumbeat of accusations Quickened: That the EPA ounce considered a $ 100,000-a-month contract to lease Pruitt a private jet . That Pruitt's director of scheduling was also house-hunting for him on the side. That after leaving his capitol last summer, he runs the EPA from Oklahoma for a month. That he wanted a better restaurant and a better restaurant. That he had upgraded to a larger, customized – and more expensive – SUV than his predecessor.
Internally, Pruitt's inner circle fractured between he had been recruited from his home and conservative who had worked in Washington for years. (19659041) As the headlines piled up – prompting Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-Fla.) To tweet that Pruitt's "corruption scandals are an embarrassment to the Administration" – top aides strategized about how to protect their boss's job.
Several congressional republicans, conservative groups and pundits, defended the embattled EPA chief. Meaning. Rand Paul of Kentucky and Ted Cruz of Texas, both directors Matt Bevin (Ky.), Phil Bryant (Miss.) And Pete Ricketts (Neb.). Bevin tweeted that the administrator should "ignore the nattering nabobs of negativism," invoking a phrase Vice President Spiro T. Agnew used in 1969 while blasting the media.
But as weeks passed and more allegations mounted, at least half a dozen of Pruitt's closest helps, including several that came from Oklahoma, left the agency. His support on Capitol Hill eroded, and even few industry representatives rushed to his defense
Just as he has a few other Cabinet members he eventually dismissed, Trump at first stuck up for Pruitt. "He's been very courageous," the president told reporters on April 5 on a flight back from West Virginia. "I can tell you at EPA he's done a fantastic job."
On June 6, he still praised Pruitt during a meeting at FEMA headquarters. "EPA is doing really, really well. And, you know, somebody has to say that about you a little bit. You know that, Scott, "he said as Pruitt looked on. "People are really impressed with the job that's being done at the EPA."
But less than a month later, the president decided his most controversial Cabinet member must go. On the night before offering his resignation, Pruitt had worn a checkered house on the White House lawn, as fireworks exploded over the nation's capital.
Josh Dawsey and Robert Costa contributed to this report.
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