The following article by Rebecca Savransky was posted on the Hill website April 8, 2018:
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said Sunday that she doesn’t believe Scott Pruitt is the right person to be leading the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
“On policy grounds alone, I think Scott Pruitt is the wrong person to head the EPA,” Collins said during an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
She was pressed on whether she believes Pruitt should resign or be fired.
“That is a position that only the president can take at this point,” she said.
Collins also noted she believes Congress needs to do some “oversight” regarding Pruitt’s spending.
“This daily drip of accusations of excessive spending and ethical violations served to further distract the agency from accomplishing its very important mission,” she said.
Pruitt has been in the spotlight over his spending on frequent first-class travel and full-time security detail.
He was criticized last year after it was reported that the EPA installed a $43,000 soundproof phone booth in his office, despite there being a similar facility elsewhere in the agency headquarters.
Most recently, Pruitt has come under fire after it was reported that he rented a condo from the wife of an energy lobbyist for $50 a night, and only on the nights he stayed there.
Some GOP lawmakers have since called for Pruitt to resign.
But President Trump has defended Pruitt, saying he is doing a “great job.”