Scandal-plagued EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt resigns

SHARE Scandal-plagued EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt resigns
ap18186709336553_e1530821106805.jpg

President Trump tweeted Thursday, July 5, he accepted the resignation of EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt. | AP file photo

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump says he has accepted the resignation of scandal-plagued Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt.

Pruitt had become a constant source of embarrassment to a president who had entered Washington promising to “Drain the Swamp.”

Pruitt has faced an array of ethical questions about his travel spending, security costs, dealings with industry lobbyists and misuse of government resources.

He had denied wrongdoing in the face of multiple congressional and oversight inquiries.

Despite the scandals, Trump has been approving of Pruitt’s efforts to reduce regulations that the administration says curb business growth. Trump writes on Twitter, “Within the Agency Scott has done an outstanding job.”

Activists have argued those cuts have endangered the environment.

Trump tweets that Deputy Administrator Andrew Wheeler will assume the acting administrator position Monday.

TIMELINE: High-profile resignations and firings in the Trump White House

RELATED

Democrats want the FBI to investigate EPA’s Scott Pruitt

Republicans demand answers from EPA chief Pruitt as ethics woes grow

EPA chief Pruitt spent millions on security and travel

The Latest
He launched a campaign against a proposed neo-Nazis march at a time the suburb was home to many Holocaust survivors. His rabbi at Skokie Central Congregation urged Jews to ignore the Nazis. “I jumped up and said, ‘No, Rabbi. We will not stay home and close the windows.’ ”
That the Bears can just diesel their way in, Bronko Nagurski-style, and attempt to set a sweeping agenda for the future of one of the world’s most iconic water frontages is more than a bit troubling.
Only two days after an embarrassing loss to lowly Washington, the Bulls put on a defensive clinic against Indiana.
One woman suffered a gunshot wound to the neck. In each incident, the four to five men armed with rifles, handguns and knives, approached victims on the street in Logan Square, Portage Park, Avondale, Hermosa threatened or struck them before taking their belongings, police said.