Newspaper & online reporters and analysts explore the cultural and news stories of the week, with photos frequently added by Esco20, and reveal their significance (with a slant towards Esco 20's opinions)
By CORAL DAVENPORT, LISA FRIEDMAN and MAGGIE HABERMAN
Embattled EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt was finally forced out on Thursday after an onslaught of scandals that led to more than a dozen investigations of his use of staff, VIP travel, and efforts to gain perks and boost his household income. The top official had caused a flood of humiliating headlines. In just one of a litany of scandals that swirled around Pruitt, aides say Pruitt asked them to help his wife find a job that would net her a salary that topped $200,000. There were reports of efforts to score tickets to top tier events, enjoy cut-rate lodging, fly first-class, meet lobbyists without a public record, blow through Washington D.C. traffic – and maybe even become the next attorney general with authority over the Russia probe. In a lengthy resignation letter he hit out at the 'unrelenting attacks on himself and his family'. An aide to Mr. Pruitt lost her job last year after objecting that the changes to official calendars could be illegal, a former senior staffer said. Pruitt, a former Oklahoma attorney general, had been hailed by conservatives for his zealous deregulation, but could not overcome the stain of those ethics questions. Reportedly, Trump fired Pruitt without talking to him, leaving the work to Chief of Staff John Kelly.
The E.P.A.’s deputy administrator, Andrew Wheeler, a former coal lobbyist, will act as the agency’s leader until President Trump nominates a new administrator.
Embattled EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt was finally forced out on Thursday after an onslaught of scandals that led to more than a dozen investigations of his use of staff, VIP travel, and efforts to gain perks and boost his household income. The top official had caused a flood of humiliating headlines. In just one of a litany of scandals that swirled around Pruitt, aides say Pruitt asked them to help his wife find a job that would net her a salary that topped $200,000. There were reports of efforts to score tickets to top tier events, enjoy cut-rate lodging, fly first-class, meet lobbyists without a public record, blow through Washington D.C. traffic – and maybe even become the next attorney general with authority over the Russia probe. In a lengthy resignation letter he hit out at the 'unrelenting attacks on himself and his family'. An aide to Mr. Pruitt lost her job last year after objecting that the changes to official calendars could be illegal, a former senior staffer said. Pruitt, a former Oklahoma attorney general, had been hailed by conservatives for his zealous deregulation, but could not overcome the stain of those ethics questions. Reportedly, Trump fired Pruitt without talking to him, leaving the work to Chief of Staff John Kelly.