Environment & Energy
Related: About this forum7 Of Pruitt's Top Aides Are Gone, Including 4 Of His Best Hack Crony Assholes From OK
Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt may still be clinging to his job despite his ever-expanding list of controversies, but his inner circle of allies is shrinking fast.
Since April, seven key EPA staffers have resigned, four of whom had once worked for him or were longtime friends he brought to the EPA from Oklahoma. And while not directly affiliated with the EPA, Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), who has been a key ally of Pruitts, recently revealed some cracks in his support. On Wednesday, when Fox News personality Laura Ingraham observed that Pruitt was hurting the president and it was time for him to go, Inhofe replied, Ive seen these things. They upset me as much as they upset you, and I think something needs to happen to change that. He suggested that one solution would be for him to leave that job, and that the deputy EPA administrator Andrew Wheeler might be a good swap.
Inhofes connection to Pruitt runs deep. His former chief of staff, Ryan Jackson, became Pruitts chief of staff and reportedly wanted to quit the agency, according to an E&E report in early April. So far, he has remained in his position, and the House oversight committee plans to interview him as part of its investigation into Pruitts conduct. Four of his former EPA colleagues who have since left have also been asked to appear before the committee.
A turning point in staff loyalty may have occurred in April, when news broke that Pruitt had rented a $50-a-night condo co-owned by an energy lobbyist for six months. After that, a series of stories about his questionable behavior appeared, and one by one, his formerly loyal staff began to exit the EPA.
EDIT
https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2018/06/even-scott-pruitts-friends-have-given-up-on-him/
InAbLuEsTaTe
(24,123 posts)I realize that's not your words... but still. Or, we're they?!
hatrack
(59,593 posts).