Energy

Trump Admin Is Apparently Purging Pruitt Loyalist As New EPA Guy Takes The Helm

g0d4ather/Shutterstock

Daily Caller News Foundation logo
Chris White Tech Reporter
Font Size:

The White House is removing several people devoted to former Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt as the administration makes room for the agency’s new head, The Daily Beast reported Sunday.

White House Chief of Staff John Kelly gave the okay to oust three officials after Pruitt resigned, notes the report, which relies on unnamed sources. Kelly pushed and prodded for Pruitt’s firing over allegations that the former agency head misspent taxpayer money on pricey flights. Former energy lobbyist Andrew Wheeler is taking over the top spot.

Kelley and the White House Presidential Personnel Office (PPO) expedited the resignation of spokesman Lincoln Ferguson, who had previously planned to leave after Pruitt’s departure, according to the report. Other people inside Pruitt’s universe received similar treatment.

EPA communications adviser Jahan Wilcox, for instance, was also asked to tender his resignation at PPO’s request. Hayley Ford, the EPA’s deputy White House liaison, was also pushed out. Wilcox’s tenure was a turbulent one, marked with a combative relationship with the media.

Pruitt’s departure came after months of damaging reports alleging the former Oklahoma attorney general was mismanaging the administration and acting unethically with administration finances. (RELATED: Dems And EPA Insiders Are Freaking Out Over Trump’s Refusal To Nix Pruitt)

The New York Times published a report in April, for instance, suggesting at least five EPA officials were placed on leave. The officials were reassigned or demoted after opposing spending requests on proposals such as a $100,000-a-month private jet membership and a bulletproof desk for the armed security officer always stationed inside the administrator’s office suite.

Pruitt also reportedly racked up nearly $90,000 in-flight expenses in June 2017. Pruitt traveled to Italy in June for meetings at the Vatican and to attend a summit with international energy ministers, CBS noted in a Feb. 13 report. The round-trip business-class flight cost at least $7,000, according to the report. Career bureaucrats at the EPA are joining in the barrage.

Follow Chris White on Facebook and Twitter

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.