I would happily give Pruitt a first class ticket and luxury accommodations to go somewhere else and stop ruining my world and the rest of humanity's hospitable planet.
These Republicans have their priorities backwards. That Pruitt is deeply selfish and even more paranoid than his boss is not a recommendation, but the harm that does is much less that his policies. Catering to profiteers, looters, and poisoners is not a principled stand for either the left or the right.
26
" ... Republicans rhapsodized about the man who had built a career by suing the agency he would now lead." Yes, a political slug with no relevant qualifications being rewarded for party loyalty. And here we go again with the newly approved head of NASA: "Many who voted against him expressed concerns about his record of partisanship as well as some statements questioning climate change, an area of research in which the space agency plays a central role ... first elected official to serve as NASA administrator ... During the confirmation hearings in November, Mr. Nelson read back Mr. Bridenstine’s disparaging remarks about other politicians, even other Republicans ... no experience running a large government bureaucracy ... One of the events that he organized as executive was ... by a business he had personally invested in ... conservative social views like opposition to same-sex marriage ... " (NYTimes, 19Apr2018)
10
"On Thursday, John Cornyn of Texas, the No. 2 ranking member of the Senate, said that Mr. Pruitt was “just fine” on policy..."
Cornyn's comment is one of the better examples of the peculiar schism in observation and perspective of the same event, that exists between Republicans and Democrats.
The director of the Environmental Protection Agency protects our environment by holding secret meetings with the oil & gas industry, under a $43,000 Cone of Silence device that Pruitt claims is needed for "classified phone calls", slashing existing environmental protections left and right to the benefit of said industries.
...and these policy actions are "just fine".
29
Just curious, but is there any existing description or photo of Pruitt's 'secure' phone booth?
Is it like, you know, Dr. Who's red Brit box phone booth or more like a regular old gummy, trashed out Atlantic Bell booth you'd find in some obscure and dangerous hallway of the Port Authority Bus Terminal, all microbes and spirochetes and graffiti?
Or is some Apple inspired, no sharp corners, brushed aluminum slab that looks like a counter-intuitive kitchen device? I despise Scott Pruitt, but I have to confess I really want one. Not sure why.
Alexa, play 'Stormy' for me; the Michael Cohn cover.
13
I’m glad that (some) Republicans are speaking up about Pruitt’s unethical expenditures. But their words ring hollow when nothing is said about trump’s frequent trips to his own properties where he often conducts business related to them, not to mention golfs instead of working. He even charges the Secret Service to rent golf carts to follow him! In 2017 alone taxpayers paid $6.6 million on airfare alone for his frequent trips to Florida (I won’t give his property free publicity by naming it and I wish the media would not mention it either.) And he is even profiting while we pay the tab since he raised the membership fees. Between Executive Time, all day TV watching, golf, conferences with his defence lawyers, weekends off, travel to and fro and, of course, temper tantrums and tweeting, when does he actually “run the country”. I’d say Pruitt has a little competition.
40
Why aren't these so-called fiscal conservatives in Congress calling for Pruitt----as well as all of the others too-good-for-coach administration officials---to repay the taxpayers for their exorbitant spending? And add to that ALL of the costs for personal travel, for that bloated security detail. Let these freeloaders pay their own way.
15
Pruitt's contempt for the environment and the citizenry align perfectly.
18
Pruitt must go
13
Depending on who replaces him, I'd be delighted to see him gone. But I can't believe this is about his phone booth and first class travel, those are small potatoes in Washington. He must have has crossed swords with powerful folks who want him gone for other reasons, he just made it easy for them.
4
So destroying the environment is just fine. And favoring coal over renewables is just dandy. And turning the E.P.A. into the Environmental Pollution Agency is just great. But a privacy booth and subsidized rent give the G.O.P. some concerns. This says just as much about the Republicans as it does about Pruitt.
25
The corruption and conflict of interest of Scott Pruitt running the EPA is soooo obvious.
The real scary part is the Republican controlled Congress let’s this happen!
13
“Pruitt has made a lot of [GOP] people very angry.”
Too bad these same people haven't gotten as publicly angry with the vastly more obtuse and self-entitled POTUS. Oh, that's right - these people still need Trump's mindless base to try to get re-elected. While Pruitt is just a sacrificial lamb nothingburger they won't need to bother discussing with the electorate - except to say "See!! Look how many of your tax dollars we saved by selectively picking a safe sound bite example of "government swamp waste"... No surprises in any of this charade...
8
There are at least nine ethics investigations of Scott Pruitt and his profligate administration of EPA, and after a full year of unrelenting offense, Republicans in Congress utter an insipid admonition about staying on course.
And this is what we call criticism. When the books about the Trump Administration are written, the Republican Congress will bear a great deal of the criticism and condemnation they can't seem to muster now.
20
When the books about the Trump Administration are written, Pruitt - and the GOP's current convenient condemnation of just one of the many inept, oblivious MAGA foot soldiers will be a one sentence footnote, if even that.
7
The American people have more than sufficient reason to be angry with Mr. Pruitt and he has good reason to expect that they will express it to him whenever he shows his face. He seems to think that he can steal their lunch money and that they should thank him for it.
No one would hire him unless they wanted to make corrupt behavior seem the latest fashion.
9
Ethical lapses are just the excuse. Pruitt's sloppy work product is open to litigation - that's why these folks want to replace him for someone who can more efficiently destroy the environment.
12
Why doesn't Pruitt simply ask one of the Koch brothers, Donald Trump, Betsy Devos, Steve Menuchin or his wife, or others of their ilk to use their largesse for his $43,000 telephone booth, first class air tickets, European vacations, extra security detail rather than wasting taxpayer money. And while they're at it why don't they fund the wonderful idea of the President who never served-- and may have evaded service---- to honor the military with a parade larger than that of Bastille Day and the North Korean leader at a $35 million dollar cost to taxpayers. So the EPA monies could be given to Flint Michigan to help it recover from the lead in the water debacle or the parade money be given to VA projects for wounded warriors.
21
So ironic to spend a career bemoaning big government, while all the while feeding from the taxpayer-provided trough.
17
Pruitt is just one more example of the corruption, arrogance, immorality, and incompetence surrounding the Trump administration. Pruitt serves only the fossil fuel barons who have bought and paid for the Trump administration. Fossil fuels are killing our environment, poisoning air and water, but people like Pruitt and Trump are willing to sell out the country and the future of the human race for that matter. Profits and greed are all that matter to them.
14
Finally they see the light? I do not want my hard earned tax money to pay for this prima donna any longer. Get a clue congress!
18
Scott Pruitt comes from a long line of characters who feel the government needs to provide them with a life style befitting their regal position. If Pruitt is forced from office, he will no doubt be replaced by another entitled anti-environment type which brings up the issue facing those disgusted by this kleptocracy. Swallow any bad taste you may have about an opposing representative or senatorial candidate and vote in the next election. Elections have consequences!
7
Trump's buying National Park Ground to build resorts. Pruitt and his cronies are going to frack that land. Trump entertains his golf buddy (Pres. of Japan) at Mara Logo; what's wrong w/WH??? Oh yes, he makes us pay for his estate and golf week vaca. OMG what will we do. Did 45 pay his taxes this year; oh yea not yet....
10
Make no mistake about it, this is nothing more than the G.O.P. slowly waking up to the fact that most American taxpayers are onto their phony fiscal resposibility plan, especially since they're the ones getting stuck with the bills for all those lavish expenses -- including Steve Pruitt's outrageous expenditures and Trump's weekend flights to Mar-a-lago.
If anything, the timely departure of Paul Ryan, the ongoing Robert Mueller investigation and the upcoming 2018 elections has stirred them enough from their narcoleptic indifference to finally start speaking out against one of their own.
Too bad.
Too little. Too late.
16
“I think he’s the best E.P.A. director we’ve ever had,” said Senator Roger Wicker of Mississippi.
That says it all and all you need to know about the current state of affairs in Washington.
20
Pruitt. Mnuchin, 45 + Ethics= Does not compute; error.
This fiasco of a presidency is one for the record books. It's a horror show that won't end.
11
"Pruitt’s industry-friendly environmental policies....."
Here is what I don't get. What is so industry-friendly about policies that endanger worker's health and threaten infrastructure structural integrity? Does industry really want to be training more new/replacement workers, paying more for the insurance premiums, and rebuild more buildings that have deteriorated due to chemical exposure or just blew up due to weak standards on explosive agents like ammonium nitrate?
Then again all of this makes about as much sense as anything else coming from the Trump Cabinet.
18
Pruitt's policies will cost America billions of dollars, as increased pollution of our air and water leads to early deaths from cancer and other diseases. Alongside that, who cares about his stupid phone booth and first class travel?
We need to keep our eye on the ball. Replacing Pruitt with his coal lobbyist deputy will actually make things worse. Having a clown as Secretary will help voters decide to oust Trump's whole gang in 2020.
Speaking of Trump, we spend millions of dollars every weekend on his trips to his golf resorts. Much of that money goes to Trump himself, as the government pays for rooms for the Secret Service and his entourage of lackeys. So, forgot pathetic Pruitt.
10
All this handwringing from Republicans about Pruitt's questionable handling of the publics money to support and present himself in the fairy tale way he imagines might play well for sound-bytes but coming from the core of those who just passed a tax bill and budget which feed the federal deficit not unlike you would feed a goose being raised for pate seems a bit rich.
Strangely there don't seem to be any Republican voices taking their cues from settled science and existing market forces and decrying what Pruitt's actions will mean for the mid-long term economy or future of our climate.
4
It's too bad that the GOP is not criticizing him for his anti-environmental policies but instead for such mundane uninteresting transgressions, but that is where we are as a nation, the GOP for decades seeing environmental policy as being anti-business (it spurs a lot of business and keeps us healthier, but the old status quo ignore that). Then again, it was on such mundane things - tax evasion - that Elliot Ness (Treasury, not FBI) brought down Al Capone rather than on the murders and trafficking in contraband (alcohol) that we would regard as his more serious crimes.
4
Dear GOP
If you don’t stand up for fiscal responsibility, and spending transparency you stand for anything and you should be voted out
We don’t need more complicit legislators. We need congress to do something other than tax breaks for donors
13
Some Republicons recognize that Pruitt's sense of entitlement is grist for the Democratic campaign mill. All Dems running for the House & Senate need to question their GOP opponents on Pruitt's luxury expenditures. But even more significantly, they need to grill their GOP opponents on Pruitt's policies and how they effect each local district and state. Voters reject many of the corporate pandering GOP attacks on environmental rules and laws, but only if they are aware of Pruitt's policies negative impact on the local economy, local air and water quality, and access for all citizens, not just miners, loggers and ranchers, to publicly held lands.
12
I fly a lot for business, too much in fact, as such I get upgraded domestically on almost every flight and given how much Scott Pruitt flies he should roll the upgrade dice just like I do, rather than spend my tax dollars on his comfort. And should Secretary Pruitt have the privilege of flying with me in First Class he will get an earful from yours truly until his (incredibly large) "security" detail suppresses my first amendment rights. But I will go all Ronald Reagan on him "I paid for this seat secretary Pruitt....and I paid for your seat."
30
Thank you. I wish I could shake your hand and buy you a drink.
3
Pruitt. An audacious robber of the public purse, totally insync with the Trump GOP, but he’s becoming a liability for the GOP.
Additionally, he works against citizens and clean air and water we need for life and health. He lives, only, for Personal and Corporate profits.
8
"Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa, a favorite of the Tea Party movement, said: “He needs to watch his expenditures...""
Wow! Thanks, Senator, for that vigorous and powerful statement against the crazy extravagance of this Okie who's come to Washington and is now using the EPA as his personal piggybank. We always knew we could depend on Tea-Party favorites to protect the American taxpayer from out-of-control politicians--- umm, well as long as they're Democrats of course.
I'm sure that thanks to this severe warning, Pruitt will immediately watch his expenditures, beginning with pilferage of pencils from the supply cabinet.
19
About as strict a warning from Hillary Clinton when she told those big bad Wall Street thugs "Now cut that out".
1
Hmmm... I don't recall Hillary Clinton saying "Now cut that out" to anyone on Wall Street. I do recall Jack Benny and various others saying it. I even googled ""Hillary Clinton" "Now cut that out"" and could not find a single news story quoting Clinton saying that.
Maybe you can provide a link to a story quoting Clinton saying that?
Pruitt’s soundproof phone booth reminds me of the Cone of Silence utilized by Maxwell Smart in his conversations with “Chief”!
7
That Pruitt maintains any support from Republicans confirms that they are a party of hypocrites.
Personal responsibility? No
Fiscal responsibility? No
Moral responsibility? No
16
So, the Republican brain trust “applauds his industry-friendly” environmental rape. Destroy all the safeguards we’ve put into place to preserve and protect our planet so that they can garner political and financial favor from polluters.
Come November, Vote! Vote! Vote!
11
Seems that you can get quite far in life if you are completely shameless.
Where are the clowns?
There ought to be clowns.
Maybe they are all at Wells Fargo.
6
I'm happy to see Pruitt get run over by his own bus. Excuse me, airplane. However, I find the Republican posturing a little absurd. They wouldn't have walked away unless their interests were already protected by Wheeler. Throwing Pruitt out is doing themselves a favor. Campaign considerations aren't a minor detail either. This isn't a righteous act. Republicans are achieving the right outcome for the wrong reasons.
20
If Pruitt actually thought that people would be "mean" to him if he flew coach, it suggests he actually has some idea of why people might actually be justifiably irate (if not enraged) at his attempts to dismantle various environmental safeguards and achievements, at his toadyism to polluters.
29
Clearly, Pruitt heard he "defeated" DeVos in the second NYT readers' poll for worst cabinet secretary, and has decided to consolidate his position and continue to distance himself from any further competition.
Mission accomplished.
20
Excellent reporting.
As the article notes, if Pruitt continues on his spending binge, as Castellanos notes, 'Republicans are unlikely to be sympathetic.'
Ya think?
John Cornyn, No. 2 ranking member of the Senate, said this controversy needs to be resolved, "one way or the other.”
Not exactly a stinging endorsement for Pruitt.
Let's not expect Pruitt to be groveling at next week's hearing. Mea culpa ain't in that bloke's vocabulary.
Guess what, Pruitt. Loyalty (two sided, that is) ain't in Trump's vocabulary. Start packing your bags....yer headed back to OK....
11
And with a government pension at our expense. Great.
1
Pruitt is paid to legally destroy our environment. Adding insult to injury he is also delving in taxpayers pockets to indulge on personal perks. It is undeniable that this administration is a disgrace.
55
Of all the abominations that trump and his voters have visited upon us, Pruitt is the worst by far. His evildoing will affect the planet for generations if he is not soon checked.
45
The idea of placing individuals in charge of agencies that are hostile to that agency's core mission is bad enough. Now these agency directors and their enablers are flaunting the fraud, waste, and abuse that occurs. These people are horrible.
24
Pruitt may have longer term ambitions for higher office but it seems his common sense which one might expect would make him more conservative in his choices in all areas personal and professional does not exist in him at the level normal adults expect from one another. I think he's gonna pass a few more edicts and he'll be dumped.
What is more terrifying to me is that little wingnut Trey Gowdy seems to be angling for a federal Judgeship and he apparently does have the sense necessary to be more conservative in his choices and to hide his wingnut nature. With El Trumpo at the helm it seems very possible he might attain the office.
4
There are 2 things that Stink more than anything else in America these days: Pollution and Pruitt.
13
Murkowski only cares about opening up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drill for oil and Pruitt's ethics and spending issues are beginning to interfere with her deplorable quest. Fellow Americans, please vote the GOP out in November and end the assault on human health and the environment. We all have a right to clean water, clean air and a healthy life.
31
Joni Ernst, who ran on making them squeal and cutting the pork has done nothing about any of the Trump cabinet who have been fleecing taxpayers. She also remains silent about the fate of Iowa farmer's with the tariffs and Trump messing with NAFTA and TTP. She, along with other Republicans, only care about the next Koch and NRA checks coming into their re-election.
31
I don't believe this nonsense. If Republicans want a fossil fuel lobbyist to regulate the EPA, how hard can it be to find one who can do that without demanding a Secret Service entourage that honks his limousine horn for him every time he heads down K Street for lunch? I believe I myself could do this challenging government job from home, simply by Skyping Exxon's CEO and taking his requests on a memo pad.
14
I thought Alex Castellanos' crack about mandarins and sedan chairs was fall-down funny--but I don't separate Pruitt's arrogant and corrupt attack on environmental protections from Pruitt's corrupt and arrogant administration of the EPA.
10
I'm not feeling real confident these republicans are going to much more than they've done, which is to speak out (a little). The shameful taxpayer spending excesses have been happening consistently and over the whole time Pruitt's been in charge of the EPA -- what is too much for Trump? (Of course, Trump is the swamp, so the notion he cares is folly)
The real crime here is the fox guarding the hen house. Pruitt himself promotes himself AGAINST the EPA and its mission. This is criminal. All those applauding Priutt's work in the EPA are those getting wealthy off the loosening of the regulations, and they, of course, don't live anywhere near the direct impact zone of the pollutants.
But, Trump's base does. Will they connect the dots?
8
The base believes that Pruitt is eliminating the Deep State to create a better EPA. They still think that Trump has a top secret plan to make their lives better, if only the Deep State would allow him to do it. At least this is what my Trump-loving neighbors tell me.
6
"Of, for, by the people" only exists in the high school textbook and governmental document to inspire the future generation. In reality, it has always been "of the rich, for the rich, by the rich" and makes the rich richer. The founders of this country were rich landholders who did not even trust in conveying the civil right to the uneducated commoners.
2
Don't Republicans realize that we all need clean air and water? Sheesh!
6
Pay to Play Pruitt is making a mockery of the law and our Democracy
3
If a democrat were to behave like pruitt,they'd be in jail by now.Trump,his adm. the whole sorry lot of them have turned this horrid 400 plus day into a cash grab nightmare.I have never seen such blatant corruption.The entire GOP should be forced to pay back, with interest,the money they have stolen from we taxpayers..then jail terms for every last one of them.What Pruitt has done to our environment is appalling and to be enriching himself at the same time makes me sick.
14
just goes to show you - Republicans reliably have no moral compass. but they are always cheap penny pinchers.
8
How is this person still working at the EPA? I forgot he is just another one if the clowns of trump. What part of not keep the public trust first am I missing. Remove him from office.
4
The EPA was conceived and created to protect and enhance the live's of the public. Pruitt's only understanding of his role and the EPA's job is to enhance the profits of industry. He should be fired.
9
There's no reason we should have toxic waste in the top office of the EPA. Dump this guy, but do it responsibly, with a full remediation plan. But don't bother with the full impact statements, scientific findings and all that - use his approach and just ship him back to Tulsa.
5
Where’s that awesome Fox News visual of a hand ripping through the heart of America captioned “nation of takers”?
How about that woman on Pruitt’s staff who didn’t show up for work for 2 months, but joined him on the joyride trip to Paris?
I’m only focusing on one of the scandals from that episode here. Of her being paid despite not showing up to work. Did she feel threatened as well and only felt secure in the privilege of first class travel?
6
This is just a combination of legitimate concern about Pruitt's lack of of due diligence in implementing the 'Science Bad/Hydrocarbons Good" agenda and rank jealousy over the money that will rain upon Pruitt the instant he leaves the government.
Senators have to spend a minimum of 6 years in D.C., usually many more before they can get paid out. Pruitt will be done in less than two.
2
Scott Pruitt has transformed the EPA into the Environmental Destruction Agency, now appropriately regarded as the Republican Fossil-Fuel Protection Agency, to the delight of Trump, his administration, and his entourage of toadies, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, House Speaker Paul Ryan, Congressman Devin (Trump Water Boy) Nunes, Fox News blowhards Hannity, et al, and soon to be Rudy (Mr. 9/11) Giuliani.
I guess the part in the Constitution Preamble “promote the general welfare” for ourselves and our posterity, means nothing to republicans and their like-minded supporters.
Please vote November 6, 2018, our democracy and a livable environment are at stake for ourselves and future generations.
9
Mr. Pruitt is starting to come off to the average onlooker as somewhat of a quack. Since he doesn't seem to be wasting millions, his purchases seem to be silly and laughable.
Of much more importance is the fact that someone like Pruitt has been put in charge of my environmental "protection." It is unconscionable and a sign of our federal govt.'s dysfunctionality that Mr. Pruitt was approved in the first place, after publicly stating in the past that the EPA should be discontinued, and running the organization with a purpose diametrically opposed to the original intent of the EPA. If the Boy Scouts, the New York Mets, AARP, Microsoft, or any other organization was looking for a leader to guide their operation, they wouldn't even think to consider someone who at some time in the past said the said organization should be discontinued.
While trashing our country and putting our citizens' health at risk actually amazingly, doesn't quite meet the US legal definition of treason, this is because that definition needs to be expanded. What they are doing is worse than practically any other scandalous activity committed against the US (like the Teapot Dome), because of the gravity of the condition of the environment, which is well-known and understood by anyone who isn't either extremely ignorant or corrupt. Mr. Pruitt and his enablers, in my book, are traitors to the USA and should all be doing jail time.
64
Oh, please. These "cracks" in Pruitt's support are but empty words by the likes of Gowdy, Cassidy, Ernst, and company. They still believe he is doing a good job for their "environmental concerns" which in their case points directly to Big Money and its determination to destroy our natural resources.
Re personal ethics, indeed, Pruitt has no moral compass. But beyond his behavior, his agenda of destruction toward the essence of life itself reveals a soul sold to the highest bidder. And let us not fool ourselves. This GOP Congress will do nothing, absolutely nothing, to stop this man from his, Trump's - and their - purpose. They are hypocrites, the whole bunch. And not for one minute should we be deceived by their empty "tsk, tsk's." The only way that Pruitt will go down is through the law of the land because that is all we have right now. And even that is being trounced on by the above...
7
GREAT SCOTT!!! How much longer must we all linger regarding Pruitt's fitness/honesty/dedication/little knowledge of EPA - BEFORE he is done away with? Will it cost the US Taxpayers even MORE money?
1
The first Republican president said it best. Our government is (or should be) of the people, by the people, and for the people. Scott Pruitt makes a mockery of that principle by his behavior and his policies.
40
"I think he's the best E.P.A. director we've ever had." What planet is Senator Wicker living on? It can't possibly be the one Scott Pruitt is doing everything in his power to ruin.
77
It's the standard Republican party problem: an unethical person is in charge with policies they like.
4
Wicker is a Republican from Mississippi. Isn’t that state at or near the bottom in education? ‘Nuff said.
14
Do the Republicans have a bottom?
74
no, they keep going low. the man is corrupt to the core and the system has allowed him unprecedented corruption. Chec his record in Okklahoma.
7
A grandstander who puts self far ahead of his responsibilities as a government employee, he wants to be a czar and muddy up everything! He wouldn't know what to do when looking at a cherry tree in front of George Washington's house or see them along the roads of DC in their beauty. Sack him!
11
What is it with individuals and their new government jobs? Scott Pruitt has been acting like he is in the movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off. What a jerk. Regardless if I agree or disagree with his policies, his complete lack of regard for Americans and the law is inexcusable. He should have been fired weeks, if not months ago. The fact that he is supposed to be the responsible Republican adult in the room highlights the danger of voting for a party versus individuals. It would be interesting to know about his behaviors as a congressman before his appointment and confirmation as a cabinet member. Finally, I'm stunned at his lies and the fact there seems to be no consequence.
45
We would never put up with it in the private sector.
3
Pruitt was not in Congress, he was the Attorney General for the state of Oklahoma.
1
It's disgusting that Republicans legislators are more concerned about Pruit's appearances of impropriety than his destructive efforts to dismantle environmental protections of the constituents they should be representing. I don't give a darn whether he flies first class but do care about the quality of the air and water I drink and enjoy in this fine country of ours.
61
Agreed. But if you're going to destroy my environment until I vote your party out - at least have the class to not spend 15 times your salary on undeserved perks!
7
Honest differences of opinion are what makes politics. What makes the Scott Pruitt situation so disheartening is that a) he isn't personally honest and b) climate science isn't opinion, it's largely fact. Pruitt is a crook and a charlatan which, given who his most vocal supporter is, isn't surprising.
62
It's heartbreaking to read these politicians celebrate "Pruitt's job" like he is actually doing something good. He is just working for corporations not for the country. It is so obvious. And then all these Republicans in charge of Environmental Committees who are doing more harm to the environment. This is unbelievable!! It's like having an engineer doing a doctor's job: it will never work..
I really hope they call it like it is: corruption, abuse of power. If they really wanted him out, they would have said it. The fact that he is still there after all these scandals, says a lot about Republicans.. November won't you come....
36
Tom Delay was not a House speaker. He was the majority leader under Dennis Hastert.
5
Good to know that the GOP's main concern is rolling back air and water pollution regulations. Guess they miss the days of acrid air and rivers that burn.
50
I can't help but think that Pruitt's appointment was a vindictive move to counter all of those pesky environmental issues Trump faced here and abroad. He has no right to be in the important position, especially since his goal to to shut it down rather than do his job. Shame on all of you.
15
What a rogue's gallery calling into question Pruitt's "ethics" while backing his weakening of the agency. More bluster from the Republican right, what a surprise.
20
As a Trump supporter, I say fire him.
4
Scott Pruitt is an example of political, as well as environmental, pollution not seen since the Harding administration. His arrogance and attempted deceit in plundering the public purse is an affront and a disgrace bordering on criminality. He should be impeached.
13
"Why would the nation's top environmental regulator need a privacy booth?"
Indeed, especially at taxpayer expense. I have nothing against "privacy booths," if Pruitt wants to pay for it himself. But not at the expense of taxpayers -- or of anyone who stands to benefit from helping Pruitt.
This seems so obvious that Pruitt deserves to be fired for a separate reason: He's obviously too stupid to figure out that high spending at taxpayer expense is objectionable to taxpayers.
8
GOP Congress members, do your job or the blowback in November will be fierce.
17
What a group. Gowdy's quitting and the rest of them can obviously read the tea leaves even with their eyes closed and their heads turned.
6
Pruitt must have been a hard egg to crack, it’s taking the A team a long time!
3
The Republicans are some party: anti-science; anti-clean water; anti-clean air. None of those highlighted in the article care about those things. I can't wait for November.
35
I would also like to hear why the GOP is all for making compromises on our health and well being by allowing polluters to escape scrutiny and not denying that climate change is already happening. Pruitt should have never been appointed and now the GOP is still insisting on supporting Pruitt. It seems that the health and the well being of US citizens is secondary to profits. Vote the GOP out in 2018!
15
So Bozeman praises Pruett's industry-friendly policies. I am still waiting to hear and see Republicans people-friendly policies. Oh, I forgot the republican-controlled Supreme Court has said corporations are people. The question is what kind of people are Republicans, and to that question I have a pretty good idea they are not people at all.
12
Pruitt's profligate spending of taxpayer dollars rates more than dismissal; he needs to be prosecuted and forced to pay it back. And I would still like to know why our EPA chief was traveling to Morocco or the Vatican?
32
All these nasty regulations that try to keep the air and water clean are job killers.
So are the drug companies trying to find cures for cancer, leukemia and other diseases.
They are going to kill jobs at hospitals.
If the first sentence makes sense, then the second should be easy to reconcile.
What do you think Mr. Pruitt?
6
Pruitt shows such extraordinarily bad judgment, yet he is entrusted in something so dear to this country as the environment, water and air. Doesn't that show that he the wrong person for the job? If you can't trust someone to be honest and honorable, in any job but especially one working for the people of the United States, then they should be fired! Obviously, under this standard, trump needs to go too.
32
I am not so sure I want Pruitt to be fired. True, Pruitt is a despicable human being, but he's apparently not all that successful at rolling back regulations. Most of his legal justifications for the rollbacks are rushed and sloppy and are not likely to stand up in court. Plus, his continuous scandals ensure that what he's doing at the E.P.A. doesn't disappear from the national conversation.
If Pruitt were sacked Mr. Wheeler would be much quieter and much more effective.
13
The party always crowing about fiscal responsibility and good values once again shows it's true colors
15
Tom Delay was the Majority Leader. He was not speaker.
3
Pruitt can't be faulted for following the grifter theme of Trump's presidency. When even the good Christians of the Evangelical community turn a blind eye to immorality that would have made each and every one of them spontaneously combust, had it happened on Obama's watch, how can Pruitt somehow be held to a higher standard?
7
Pruitt needs to go.
Whatever one's feelings are about the EPA, a government official should not fly first class and bill it to the taxpayers. To do so shows not only over-reaching, but downright stupidity.
Gowdy is right: It would amaze me that very many passengers on any flight even know who Scott Pruitt is. They're more likely to figure that out if they see him surrounded by security people than if he just quietly takes a seat in the coach section.
I have no problem with a government official flying first class -- IF he pays for the difference (between first class and coach) with his own money. I greatly resent him using taxpayer dollars for that, however, and I think most Americans feel the same way about that.
Scott Pruitt must go -- maybe not today, but tomorrow morning at the latest.
115
That's how it worked when I was in government. You submitted a travel request form explaining the dates, times, and purpose of trip. All of the above needed approval from a supervisor. The bean counters came back with a number. Everything else was on you.
7
The main concern I have about Pruitt is that he is sabotaging the EPA by removing or watering down environmental regulations meant to protect the public. His use of a sound-proof telephone booth in his office, while ridiculous, is not my primary concern. Nor is my main concern his flagrant use of travel.
He is obviously unfit to lead the EPA. Dump him and get someone qualified to run the agency.
11
These guys will quickly fall in line and do whatever Trump directs.
4
His spending habits are nothing compared to the destruction of our health and environment his policies are causing.
31
No concern about Pruitt's disastrous policies for our environment, just his spending habits that make Republicans look bad too their base, must be an election coming up.
17
If the GOP needs to be concerned about how taxpayer dollars are spent maybe they should have had second thoughts on the big tax breaks for their corporate friends that will ultimately become the hardship of the average American taxpayer.
21
“I think there are legitimate concerns about him.” --Senator John Boozman of Arkansas
Of course there are. And there are legitimate concerns about his boss. After Pruitt is dispatched, apply the same careful scrutiny to the president.
58
These inappropriate expenditures - first class travel, sound proof phone booth, spousal travel, outrageously expensive office furniture, etc., etc. -should be charged to the government employees themselves, to be paid for out of their own funds. And in this, I include all the costs of the president's travels to Florida.
84
According to Republican strategist, Alex Castellanos, Scott Pruitt's "real problem" in demanding ostentatious and expensive perks of office, is that he "represents the opposite of Trump's populism ... he thinks he's more worthy than the people he represents."
That might be so were Trump's populism not all noise without substance. Trump's authoritarian impulses and tastelessly lavish lifestyle long preceded his assumption of the additional privileges and powers of the presidency. His business record was never limited by any populist sympathy for ordinary people.
Pruitt's real problem is not that he has rejected Trump's pseudo-populism. It's that he believes his position should allow him to operate just like Trump. That belief seems to stem from the same conviction undergirding Trump's narcissism: both believe they're more important than the people they represent.
Right-wing populism is the tribute demagogues pay democracy in order to trick the people.
88
Why would the nation's top environmental regulator need a privacy booth? Got something to hide maybe? Enforcement of nation's environmental laws and regulations should be an open and transparent process. If someone is afraid to mingle with their public, and they need a soundproof phone booth they are probably up to no good. Investigate his spending, but don't overlook his policies and processes.
155
The mere presence of this phone booth, in his office, should be sufficient reason for a warrant to tap that phone. The scent of criminality abounds here!
12
I'm not heartened by the fact that these representatives put unwarranted first-class travel ahead of unconscionable destruction of our environment and atmosphere.
189
I know....it's mind boggling to me as well. I dont know how these people sleep at night. Lets pollute, water, air, destroy habitats, overdevelop pristine land, shrink protected parkland, jeopardized endangered species...WOOHOO! How can people think that is ok?
22
They view the destruction of the environment as a feature, not a bug.
17