The Huffington Post is reporting that two Florida Republicans have joined in calls for the resignation of EPA Director Scott Pruitt.
Reps. Carlos Curbelo (R-Fla.) and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) called for Scott Pruitt’s resignation Tuesday, becoming the first Republicans to demand the embattled Environmental Protection Agency administrator step down amid growing controversy over his spending and ties to lobbyists.
The call follows a series of scandals surrounding Pruitt. Not only has the EPA Director made a habit of either flying first class or chartering military flights at enormous expense, ABC News recently revealed Pruitt has been living in a townhouse belonging to a prominent fossil fuels lobbyist. A client of that lobbyist subsequently had the extension of a pipeline approved, even though that same pipeline was the subject of a major spill and the largest fine since BP’s Gulf spill. Pruitt has also used the townhouse to host GOP fundraisers.
That scandal follows word that on a single trip to Rome, Pruitt ran through $120,000, including getting a private tour of the Vatican. And news that Pruitt had taken a group for a four-day event in Morocco where he promoted fracking for natural gas … even though that’s not part of the EPA’s goals.
Pruitt has also demonstrated an amazing level of paranoia. He had a second level of security installed inside the EPA’s existing security system. He hired at least 30 personal bodyguards. He put a soundproof booth inside his office. He has twice had his office swept for bugs. And he regularly scurries around the building to use telephones other than his own out of fear that his line has been tapped.
Scott Pruitt has been a disaster for the EPA. In his time at the agency, he’s overridden the results of studies and suppressed statements in order to keep toxic pesticides on the market, replaced scientific advisory boards with panels of the worst polluters, hidden climate information from the public and done everything he could to wreck enforcement of environmental law.
Republicans may approve of Pruitt’s efforts to promote fossil fuels, roll back environmental protections and shield companies from the consequences of their actions. But they’re finding it harder to defend his unending displays of corruption.
Democrats, meanwhile, are calling on Pruitt to resign “immediately.”
“It is long past time for Scott Pruitt’s tenure to end. From cozying up to industry insiders, to wasting taxpayer dollars and breaking ethical norms, Americans cannot trust Pruitt and he should resign immediately,” the Democratic National Committee said in a statement.