Tag: Scott Pruitt

Trump administration sidelined experts in writing car pollution rules, EPA watchdog finds

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Inspector general’s report may give Biden more reason to tighten fuel-economy standards in fight against global warming

The Trump administration sidelined career staffers at the Environmental Protection Agency when weakening pollution rules for new passenger vehicles, according to a federal watchdog report.

The EPA’s inspector general found top political leaders at the agency failed to properly document and consider the concerns of staff experts while unwinding standards for tailpipe emissions set under President Barack Obama.

The report, released Tuesday, may provide fresh fodder for the Biden administration to tighten mileage and greenhouse gas standards for new automobiles as part of a broader effort to phase out internal-combustion engines and drastically cut the nation’s climate-warming emissions. Continue reading.

Scott Pruitt, Former E.P.A. Chief, Is in Talks for His Next Job: Coal Consultant Image

Credit: Kaster, AP Photo

WASHINGTON — Scott Pruitt, the former head of the Environmental Protection Agency who championed deregulation of the fossil fuel industry, is in discussions to work as a consultant to the Kentucky coal mining tycoon Joseph W. Craft III.

Mr. Pruitt has remained largely out of the public eye since parting ways with the Trump administration in July under a cloud of ethics investigations into matters including his ties to fossil fuel industry executives with business before the agency.

Mr. Craft, the chief executive of Alliance Resource Partners and a major Republican donor, enjoyed a close relationship with the E.P.A. during Mr. Pruitt’s tenure. Mr. Craft met with Mr. Pruitt at least seven times in Mr. Pruitt’s first 14 months at the agency and in December provided him with courtside seats at a University of Kentucky basketball game, a school where Mr. Craft is a prominent supporter.

View the complete September 12, 2018, article by Lisa Friedman, Kiroko Tabuchi and Eric Lipton on the New York Times website.

Pruitt grants loophole to ‘super polluting’ diesel truck manufacturers on last day at EPA B

The following article by Avery Anapol was posted on the Hill website July 7, 2018:

Credit: Greg Nash

The Environmental Protection Agency on Friday granted a loophole to allow increased manufacturing of a kind of diesel freight truck known as “super polluting.”

The move, which came on embattled administrator Scott Pruitt’s last day on the job, is being harshly criticized by environmentalists and lung health advocates, according to The New York Times.

The EPA confirmed to The Times that through the end of next year, the agency will not enforce a previous cap on manufacturers making “glider trucks,” and hopes to permanently repeal the cap.

Glider trucks combine older engines–that do not meet modern emissions requirements–with newer truck bodies. The Times reported that small fleet owners have sought out glider trucks in order to evade emissions regulations, as they are cheaper to run.

View the complete article on the Hill website here.

Trump’s dumbfounding bet on Scott Pruitt

The following article by Aaron Blake was posted on the Washington Post website July 6, 2018:

The Fix’s Aaron Blake breaks down why President Trump supported scandal-plagued EPA administrator Scott Pruitt for so long. (Video: Jenny Starrs/Photo: Melina Mara/The Washington Post)

This post has been updated.

The business of politics is often a cost-benefit analysis, if not outright gambling. People have a certain amount of political capital, comprising their base of support and internal favors, and they get to choose when and where to spend it — with no telling how their decisions will pan out or how much of a return, if any, they will reap.

Scott Pruitt was both a bad business decision and a horrible political gamble. Yet the White House kept throwing good money after bad on that bet. As indictments of Trump’s political decisions and acumen go, Pruitt ranks extremely high.

Put plainly: The White House for some reason thought this might get better, even as it was pretty clear to everyone outside 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. that Pruitt’s blatant indifference to ethical concerns ensured that it never would.

View the full article on the Washington Post website here.

Scott Pruitt resigns from EPA

The following article by lauren Meier and Haley Britzky was posted on the Axios website July 5, 2018:

Credit: Kaster, AP Photo

Environmental Protection Agency head Scott Pruitt has resigned following months of bizarre scandals.

President Trump quickly tweeted that he accepted his resignation, thanking him for his time with the agency, adding that “the future of the EPA is very bright!” Deputy Administrator Andrew Wheeler, a former coal lobbyist and top aide to Oklahoma Sen. Jim Inhofe, will take over as head of the EPA.

Continue reading “Scott Pruitt resigns from EPA”

Today, int Trump’s America: Scott Pruitt faces yet more allegations of ethical misconduct

The following article by Emily C. Singer was posted on the Mic.com website July 3, 2018:

About last night: The hits just keep on coming for EPA administrator Scott Pruitt

Every time a new bombshell drops on Environmental Protection Agency administrator Scott Pruitt, it’s hard to believe the scandal around him could get any bigger.

And yet, it consistently grows.

Multiple stories dropped Monday afternoon alleging yet more inappropriate behavior by Pruitt. The Washington Post reported that Pruitt asked a former policy aide to get his wife a job as a fundraiser for the Republican Attorneys General Association, where he wanted her to earn at least $200,000.

View the full article on the Mic.com website here.

Whistleblower: EPA’s Pruitt kept secret calendar to hide meetings

The following article by Scott Bronstein, Curt Devine and Drew Griffin was posted on the CNN website July 3, 2018:

(CNN) — EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt and his aides have kept “secret” calendars and schedules to overtly hide controversial meetings or calls with industry representatives and others, according to a former EPA official who is expected to soon testify before Congress. A review of EPA documents by CNN found discrepancies between Pruitt’s official calendar and other records.

EPA staffers met routinely in Pruitt’s office to “scrub,” alter or remove from Pruitt’s official calendar numerous records because they might “look bad,” according to Kevin Chmielewski, Pruitt’s former deputy chief of staff for operations, who attended the meetings.
A CNN review which compared Pruitt’s public calendar with internal EPA schedules and emails shows more than two dozen meetings, events or calls were omitted from his public calendar.

View the complete article on the CNN website here.

Scott Pruitt Personally Involved in ‘Ratf*cking’ Ex-Aides Who He Feels Betrayed Him

NOTE:  We’re aware of Mr. Pruitt’s resignation. We’re continuing to post about his actions in office to help preserve a record of the Trump administration’s corruption.

The following article by Lachlan Markay and Asawin Suebsaeng was posted on the Daily Beast website June 28, 2018:

The EPA chief demands loyalty. He doesn’t always reciprocate, though.

Credit: Getty Images

On May 18, a top aide to Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt testified to a congressional committee that she had been tasked with procuring her boss a used mattress from the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C. Just days after news of that testimony broke, the aide, Pruitt’s now former director of scheduling Millan Hupp, submitted her resignation.

But even though Hupp was gone from the agency, Pruitt wasn’t done with her. Continue reading “Scott Pruitt Personally Involved in ‘Ratf*cking’ Ex-Aides Who He Feels Betrayed Him”

Pruitt facing new probe into claims he retaliated against EPA staffers who questioned some decisions

NOTE:  We are aware that former EPA head Scott Pruitt has resigned, but we believe it’s important to provide documentation of the Trump administration’s actions.

Credit: Kaster, AP Photo

The following article by Juliet Eilperin and Brady Dennis was posted on the Washington Post website June 25, 2018:

The U.S. Office of Special Counsel is investigating whether Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt retaliated against staffers who questioned his spending and management decisions, according to three individuals familiar with the probe. Continue reading “Pruitt facing new probe into claims he retaliated against EPA staffers who questioned some decisions”

For Pruitt, gaining Trump’s favor — and keeping it — came through fierce allegiance

The following article by Josh Dawsey, Juliet Eilperin and Brady Dennis was posted on the Washington Post website June 16, 2018:

EPA Administrator Pruitt joined President Trump last June for the administration’s announcement that the United States would pull out of the Paris climate accord. Credit: Jabin Botsford, The Washington Post

In the run-up to the decision to pull out of the Paris climate agreement last May, President Trump wanted the opinion of Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt. But when the president’s personal secretary called the EPA, Pruitt wasn’t around.

As it turned out, he was already in the White House, having just ordered the ice cream special in the Mess, where he often dined hoping for just such an opportunity to talk to the president. Once in the Oval Office, Pruitt reinforced Trump’s desire to leave the accord, arguing against other advisers so long that an aide had to bring a cup so his melting ice cream wouldn’t drip onto the presidential rug. Continue reading “For Pruitt, gaining Trump’s favor — and keeping it — came through fierce allegiance”