Under Scott Pruitt’s leadership, EPA stands for Ethical Problems Abound. Or is it Ethical Practices Avoided? Either way, the administrator of what’s otherwise known as the Environmental Protection Agency got a sweet deal last year on a living space in Washington, D.C., for which he now should answer.
Environmental Protection Agency administrator Scott Pruitt worked directly with a top energy lobbyist, and without a real estate broker, to set up a $50-a-night rental room in a prime Capitol Hill building co-owned by the lobbyist’s wife during his first six months in Washington, a source familiar with the arrangement told ABC News.
Pruitt was permitted to pay rent for just a single bedroom in the upstairs condo unit, even though the other bedrooms in the unit were unoccupied, the source told ABC News.
For much of his first year in Washington, President Trump’s EPA Administrator Scott Pruittoccupied prime real estate in a townhouse near the U.S. Capitol that is co-owned by the wife of a top energy lobbyist, property records from 2017 show.
Neither the EPA nor the lobbyist, J. Steven Hart, would say how much Pruitt paid to live at the prime Capitol Hill address, though Hart said he believed it to be the market rate. The price tag on Pruitt’s rental arrangement is one key question when determining if it constitutes an improper gift, ethics experts told ABC News.
The mission of the Environmental Protection Agency has always been to protect human health and the environment. But since taking the helm just over a year ago, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt has made no secret that his personal mission is to do the opposite.
A coalition of 10 progressive and environmental groups are launching a campaign Wednesday saying President Donald Trump’s EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt needs to go. The campaign, which is spearheaded by the Sierra Club, the Natural Resources Defense Council, Green Latinos, Defend Our Future, Hip Hop Caucus, and others, includes many of the groups that have been out front protesting Pruitt and the Trump administration.
The mission of the Environmental Protection Agency is “to protect human health and the environment.” Disgraced EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt tried his best to undermine this vital mission by choosing to slash critical health protections and let corporate polluters off the hook. Now that Pruitt’s been booted, we need an EPA administrator dedicated to undoing his toxic agenda and restoring the agency to its core mission. Progress is possible and necessary – but another corporate crony or climate skeptic will not get us there.
Scott Pruitt is gone, but the fight is just beginning. We need an EPA administrator who puts our health and environment first, period. Any alternative is unacceptable.
