Scott Pruitt, Fallen E.P.A. Chief, May Rise Again in Oklahoma

Scott Pruitt, who resigned as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency last week, still owns a home in an affluent neighborhood of Tulsa, Okla. Some Oklahomans think he could make a comeback in the state where he served as attorney general.CreditNick Oxford for The New York Times

By Richard Fausset
July 8, 2018

BROKEN ARROW, Okla. — Scott Pruitt’s brief, tumultuous tenure as the head of the Environmental Protection Agency has left him disgraced in the eyes of many in Washington and across the country. But it may not have done him much harm in his home state.

Though a comeback for Mr. Pruitt is far from assured, some liberals and conservatives in Oklahoma agree he could engineer one in this oil- and gas-dependent state where he used to be attorney general. His hard-line anti-regulatory message remains popular here, and many of his supporters consider the spreading plume of scandal from his time at the E.P.A. the product of unfair liberal persecution.

“I don’t judge him,” said Ron Bracken, 59, a salesman and a supporter of President Trump, while sitting Sunday morning in the cafe of the megachurch that Mr. Pruitt has attended for decades.

Mr. Bracken conceded that perhaps there had been some wrongdoing on Mr. Pruitt’s watch while in Washington. But he was not ready to condemn Mr. Pruitt based on news media reports, which he said had become partisan and untrustworthy: “It’s probably not as bad as they say. If you’re a Republican, you’ve got a mark on your back.”

It is not clear whether Mr. Pruitt, 50, and his family will return to Tulsa, where he attended law school, practiced law and owns a home in a neighborhood south of downtown that has large residences and wide green lawns. A lawyer for Mr. Pruitt did not respond to questions on Sunday.

If he does return, he would probably need to find a job. He would also likely find many people who have cheered the leading role he took in the Trump administration’s effort to drastically roll back environmental rules that affect the oil and gas industry.

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