Scott Pruitt Resigned – Here’s Why It’s Good News (And Why It Might Not Be)
6 July 2018
I was SO delighted when I heard the news that Scott Pruitt resigned! As the head of the US EPA, he did everything in his power to NOT protect our air and water. Even though that’s what the EPA is supposed to do.
In addition to supporting the fossil fuel industry (aka BigOil), Pruitt has amassed a number of scandals that is pretty astonishing:
- Vast spending – using taxpayer dollars of course (1st class flights, massive security details (including on personal trips to Disneyland and others), building a secure phone booth, and more
- renting a condo from a fossils lobbyist
- using multiple email accounts, multiple appointment books / calendars, and more
He’s facing federal investigations for all of these.
Of course, it’s not all good news. The person who’ll take over the reins for the moment is Pruitt’s #2, Andrew Wheeler, and he’s a former coal lobbyist. So he’ll have a similar agenda to Pruitt – basically, to gut the EPA. And while we were often “distracted” by Pruitt’s many scandals, analysts say he’ll probably avoid any, and simply keep working to do the bidding of BigCoal and BigOil.
But I’m a huge admirer of Kristin Mink, the woman who confronted Pruitt at a restaurant. She too was eating lunch – and she went over to him with her child and asked him to resign: She was polite, and made her points clearly. Good for her!
And then, after she’d heard Scott Pruitt resigned, she sent this tweet:- “Hey @realDonaldTrump where are you going to lunch tomorrow?”
That made my day.
You can read the full story below. Keep smiling – we’re Scott-free!
The moment you’d been waiting for arrived on Thursday afternoon. Scott Pruitt, fan of fancy lotions and fossil fuel lobbyists, had finally resigned as head of the EPA.
In a year and half, Pruitt managed to squeeze in a staggering number of scandals, spending loads of taxpayer dollars on first-class flights, keeping a “secret calendar” to mask his meetings with industry representatives, and so much else. At the time of his departure, he faced 18 federal investigations — going on 19.
“It is extremely difficult for me to cease serving you in this role first because I count it a blessing to be serving you in any capacity,” Pruitt wrote in his resignation letter to President Trump, “but also, because of the transformative work that is occurring.”
What sort of “transformative work” is occurring at the EPA? Pruitt has been overhauling the agency to ensure that industry interests come before environmental protection. He weakened rules that kept polluters in check — many of which are being challenged in court — and tried to jettison others like the Clean Power Plan.
Many breathed a sigh of relief when the news broke, but others expressed concern that Andrew Wheeler, a former coal lobbyist who’s now the EPA’s No. 2, will take over and continue Pruitt’s deregulatory agenda. Twitter brought us some creative reactions, too — even limericks.
Here’s how some big names in politics and environmental activism reacted to the news:
Senator Bernie Sanders, Democrat from Vermont: “Scott Pruitt was the worst EPA administrator in the history of the agency.”
Representative Nancy Pelosi, House Minority Leader: “One down with the resignation of @EPAScottPruitt, dozens more to go until we’ve drained the swamp of the Trump Admin’s toxic culture and corruption. #PollutingPruitt”
Representative Gerry Connolly, Democrat from Virginia: “Scott Pruitt’s reign of venality is finally over. He made swamp creatures blush with his shameless excesses.”
Senator Chuck Grassley, Republican from Iowa: “Fewer things are more important for government officials than maintaining public trust. Administrator Pruitt, through his own actions, lost that trust.”
Senator Kamala Harris, Democrat from California: “Just because Scott Pruitt resigned doesn’t mean we’ve forgotten about the taxpayer funds he’s misused or the damage he’s done to our environment. We must have someone running the EPA that will protect clean air and clean water.”
Noah Bookbinder, executive director at Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington: “Good.”
Kristin Mink, the woman who confronted Pruitt at a restaurant with her child and asked him to resign: “Hey @realDonaldTrump where are you going to lunch tomorrow?”
Scott Dworkin, co-founder of the Democratic Coalition: “Someone needs to make sure Scott Pruitt doesn’t smuggle his $43,000 soundproof phone booth out of the EPA offices. It’s evidence.”
We’ll leave you with a more artful version of Pruitt’s resignation letter:
This story on Scott Pruitt resigned was originally published by Grist with the headline Scott Pruitt resigned. Twitter was ready. on Jul 5, 2018.
Original source: https://grist.org/article/scott-pruitt-resigned-twitter-was-ready/