Opposition to Scott Pruitt as EPA administrator first began after his nomination by President Donald Trump in late 2016. (Photo By Laurie Shaull)
Scott Pruitt resigned July 5 from his post as administrator of the U.S. EPA, in a move initially announced via tweet from President Donald Trump.
In the same announcement, the president reported that the U.S. Senate confirmed EPA deputy Andrew Wheeler as acting administrator.
“Within the agency, Scott has done an outstanding job, and I will always be thankful to him for this,” Trump tweeted. “I have no doubt that Andy will continue on with our great and lasting EPA agenda. We have made tremendous progress and the future of the EPA is very bright!”
The announcement came amid allegations that Pruitt was enlisting aides for specials favors to him and his family, hiding public records, spending unethically, and forming close relationships with lobbyists. Pruitt in his resignation letter stated one of the reasons he left his post was due to “unrelenting attacks on me personally.”
Various news organizations have reported ideological parallels between Pruitt and Wheeler, speculating that the EPA’s recent trajectory is likely to continue uninterrupted.
Pruitt is the subject of at least 13 federal investigations, according to New York Times.
