Scott Pruitt today admitted in a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee hearing to violating federal regulations when he accepted the services of his direct subordinate, Millan Hupp, without paying her [exchange here]. Hupp assisted Pruitt in his housing search last year, Pruitt confirmed, without pay, a violation of the Code of Federal Regulations (administrative law governing federal employees, laid out by the Office of Government Ethics). The EPA Inspector General confirmed to Congressman Beyer l... Read more

Rep. Don Beyer today issued the following statement on EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt’s “Back to Basics” memo instructing the EPA to begin factoring “economic effects” into its decisions on setting clean air standards: “Scott Pruitt’s latest attempt to undermine air pollution standards set by the Clean Air Act is illegal and immoral. The only ‘basics’ that his actions would take us ‘back to’ are the era when cities were shrouded in lethal air pollution and American rivers burned. Weakening clean... Read more

Rep. Don Beyer today issued the following statement on the reported resignation of John Konkus, the EPA’s Deputy Associate Administrator for Public Affairs: “Scott Pruitt’s toxicity has infected the upper echelons of EPA leadership, and the process of cleaning this mess must begin with Pruitt’s dismissal,” said Rep. Beyer. “Mr. Konkus’ tenure at EPA was emblematic of the way that special interests have been empowered to subvert the EPA’s core mission under Pruitt. In the wake of Konkus’ resignat... 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 Administration. On Thursday, it was announced that Associate Administrator Liz Bowman, Konkus’ boss and the EPA’s top public affairs official, was d... 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 made headlines, as officials with close ties to the administrator announced they would be moving on from the agency. The h... 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, who is also a former lobbyist for foreign governments, runs his own corporate advisory firm and is treasurer of the Ame... 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 have stayed in Tulsa to conduct much of his work. As it turned out, Pruitt was unable to get the office set up in... Read more

Rep. Don Beyer issued the following statement today after the resignations of EPA Senior Adviser Albert Kelly, who oversaw the Superfund program, and EPA security chief Pasquale “Nino” Perrotta: “Scott Pruitt should be the next to go. The exodus of Pruitt’s closest aides shows just how toxic his reign at EPA has become,” said Rep. Beyer. “Albert Kelly was never qualified to run Superfund, his banking ban was a huge red flag, and his resignation is a positive development. The EPA needs new leader... Read more

Today, Ranking Member Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX), Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Oversight, Congressman Donald S. Beyer Jr. (D-VA) and Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Environment, Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) sent two records request letters to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the General Services Administration (GSA). The letters request documents and communications regarding EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt’s efforts to establish a new EPA office in his homet... Read more

AP The two top officials in charge of security and toxic-waste cleanups at the Environmental Protection Agency have abruptly left their jobs, days after EPA administrator Scott Pruitt told lawmakers that his subordinates were to blame for alleged ethical lapses that have prompted more than a dozen federal investigations of the agency. In statements Tuesday, Pruitt praised the two men — security chief Pasquale “Nino” Perrotta and Albert Kelly, a former Oklahoma banker who ran the EPA’s Superfund ... Read more