Pruitt
President Donald Trump is fielding letters from Democrats in the House of Representatives who have called on the president to either fire U.S. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt or urge him to resign.
Scrutiny against Pruitt has reached a new high in recent days as the EPA chief has faced criticism over his use of taxpayer dollars for his security team, personal travel and allegedly paying $50 a night to live in a condo owned by the wife of an energy lobbyist.
The president recently tweeted his defense of Pruitt.
“While Security spending was somewhat more than his predecessor, Scott Pruitt has received death threats because of his bold actions at EPA. Record clean Air & Water while saving USA Billions of Dollars. Rent was about market rate, travel expenses OK. Scott is doing a great job!”
Pruitt’s position as the head of EPA has drawn criticism from the left since then-President-elect Trump first nominated him to lead the agency in December 2016. At the time, Pruitt vowed to dismantle several environmental laws and was involved in a legal effort by 27 states to overturn President Barack Obama’s Clean Power Plan, a primary policy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Pruitt has expressed strong support for the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) program and the Drinking Water and Clean Water State Revolving Funds (SRFs).
