Think Progress
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt has spent $3.5 million in taxpayer dollars on personal security in just his first year in the position, CBS News revealed Friday.
This is far more than his two predecessors from the Obama administration, who CBS News says spent between $1.6 to $2 million annually on security.
EPA spokesman Jahan… Read more »
The Hill
House Democrats on Thursday sent letters to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt and the agency's Office of Inspector General (OIG) requesting information on a legal defense fund set up by Pruitt to defend himself in the midst of multiple scandals.
Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.), the ranking member on the House Judiciary Committee, and a… Read more »
Washington Post
Six months after Bijan Ghaisar was fatally shot by two U.S. Park Police officers on a Northern Virginia side street, hundreds of family members, friends and supporters marched around the Justice Department building Saturday chanting, “We want names — we want justice — we are Bijan.”
Other than the video of the incident recorded by Fairfax County police, virtually no… Read more »
ARL Now
President Donald Trump’s decision to pull the United States out of an international nuclear deal with Iran is prompting condemnation from Arlington’s congressional delegation.
Trump announced Tuesday afternoon that he plans to reimpose economic sanctions on Iran, reversing an agreement hammered out by President Barack Obama’s administration and a variety of other… Read more »
Government Executive
A group of congressional Democrats on Tuesday asked a Justice Department watchdog to investigate allegations that the department improperly considered job candidates’ political views during the hiring process.
In a letter to Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz, eight Democratic lawmakers highlighted whistleblower accounts… Read more »
The Hill
Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) on Monday tore into President Trump's tweet attacking special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe, saying that Trump wasn’t “a king” who could shut down the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.
“Getting competent lawyers to represent you has been a challenge, but there must be someone who can explain to you… Read more »
Bloomberg
The fourth departure this week of an Environmental Protection Agency official was announced on Friday, in a move suggesting continued fallout from the controversies swirling around Administrator Scott Pruitt.
John Konkus, the agency’s deputy associate administrator for public affairs, is leaving to lead communications at the Small Business… Read more »
Think Progress
Staff departures from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have become so common that they rarely make news anymore — since Administrator Scott Pruitt took control of the EPA in 2017, more than 700 employees have left the agency.
But this week, as federal investigations surrounding Pruitt’s ethical scandals continue to mount, four departures in particular… Read more »
New York Times
A Washington consultant who was removed from President Trump’s transition team for using his business email address for government work played a central role last year in planning a trip to Australia for Scott Pruitt, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, and then took steps to disguise his role, new documents show.
The consultant, Matthew C. Freedman,… Read more »
Think Progress
Even before he was sworn in as the head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Scott Pruitt was demonstrating the questionable judgment that has marked his 15-month tenure as head of the agency.
Working with his soon-to-be chief of staff, Pruitt explored the possibility of establishing an EPA office in his hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma. If successful, Pruitt could… Read more »
