EPA Chief Draws Trump Praise — and Ire
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is offering measured support for Scott Pruitt, the Environmental Protection Agency chief whose deregulatory efforts make him one of the most consequential Cabinet members. But Pruitt, who is at the center of swirling ethics questions over his travel spending and ties to Washington lobbyists, is not out of hot water yet.
"I hope he's going to be great," Trump told reporters Tuesday, declining to reiterate publicly his private praise for Pruitt's work.
In a phone call Monday, Trump told Pruitt that "we've got your back" and urged him to "keep his head up" and "keep fighting," according to two administration officials. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss private conversations publicly.
But two other officials, also without authority to be identified, said the praise referred to Pruitt's work in loosening environmental regulations that the Trump administration has argued hamstring manufacturers and in provoking blowback from environmental groups.
Those officials added that the call's tone was not entirely positive — and that the White House is displeased by the ethical cloud surrounding Pruitt. They also said John Kelly, Trump's chief of staff, delivered a warning to Pruitt about the White House's displeasure.
Trump has repeatedly offered praise for embattled members of his administration, even while privately plotting their ouster and interviewing replacements.
Pruitt has come under intense scrutiny for his use of a Capitol Hill condominium owned by the wife of prominent Washington lobbyist Steven Hart, whose firm represents fossil fuel companies. An agency ethics official at the EPA has insisted that Pruitt's lease didn't violate federal ethics rules.
A memo signed by Kevin Minoli contends that Pruitt's $50-a-night rental payments constitute a fair market rate. Pruitt's lease, however, required him to pay just for nights he occupied in the unit. Pruitt actually paid a total of $6,100 over the six-month period he leased the condo, an average of about $1,000 a month.
But current rental listings for two-bedroom apartments in the neighborhood show they typically go for far more than what Pruitt paid. A two-bedroom townhome on the same block as the one leased by Pruitt was advertised for rent on Monday at $3,750 a month.
Records show that while Pruitt was living in the condo, he met in his EPA office with a lobbyist from Hart's firm and two executives from an energy company seeking to scuttle tighter pollution standards for coal-fired power plants. EPA also granted a favorable ruling to a pipeline company also represented by Hart's firm.
Walter Shaub, who ran the U.S. Office of Government Ethics until resigning last year, tweeted that EPA's legal justification of Pruitt's living arrangements was "Total Baloney."
Democrats from both the House and Senate issued letters Tuesday urging the EPA's inspector general to investigate Pruitt's living arrangements. Spokeswoman Jennifer Kaplan said the watchdog office is evaluating the requests. It is already probing Pruitt's outsized 2017 travel spending and his purchase of a $43,000 soundproof booth for making private phone calls from his office.
Pruitt also has come under increasing scrutiny for his extensive use of bodyguards and frequent taxpayer-funded travel, which has included first-class airline tickets. Though federal regulations typically require federal officials to fly in coach, the EPA chief has said he needed to sit in premium seats due to security concerns. A Republican who previously served as the state attorney general of Oklahoma, Pruitt has long been a champion of the oil and gas industry. In the year he has served as the Trump administration's top environmental official, Pruitt has moved to scrap, gut or replace numerous environmental regulations opposed by the industry while boosting the continued burning of fossil fuels, which is the primary cause of climate change.
Trump is said to be fond of Pruitt and has cheered his moves to rollback regulations and do battle with environmental groups.
The president's call to Pruitt came just days after another Cabinet official, Veterans Affairs head David Shulkin, was dismissed after stirring ethics concerns. An inspector general's report concluded that Shulkin had inappropriately accepted Wimbledon tickets and his staff had doctored email to improperly justify free travel for his wife. Shulkin denied any wrongdoing.
Other Trump Cabinet members, including Housing Secretary Ben Carson and Interior head Ryan Zinke have also faced questions about their expenditures.
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