Anti-Pruitt Sentiments Soar: GOP Members Call for Resignation as Media Campaign Circulates Petition
Source: Environmental LeaderBy Jennifer Hermes
Republican congressman Carlos Curbelo called yesterday for EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt to resign; he was the first Republican to push for Pruitt’s resignation but was rapidly followed by Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), according to The Hill. Curbelo and Ros-Lehtinen join 20 other members of Congress currently calling for Pruitt to resign or be fired, according to ThinkProgress. The news comes just a week after environmental activist organizations launched a media campaign to oust Pruitt.
The Boot Pruitt campaign launched with a website, Twitter account, and TV ads – on Fox News during the program Fox & Friends, and on MSNBC’s Morning Joe. The Sierra Club, League of Conservation Voters, and Natural Resources Defense Council, among other groups, are using the Boot Pruitt campaign to call for Pruitt’s resignation at a time when the EPA head faces reports of one scandal after another. The website includes a timeline of Pruitt’s “dirty dealings,” and encourages visitors to sign a petition telling Pruitt that “it’s past time for him to resign.”
Other organizations that are part of the campaign include Hip Hop Caucus, EarthJustice, Green for All, Green Latinos, CAP Action, Nextgen America, Environmental Defense Fund, Friends of the Earth, Center for Environmental Health, and EWG. Pruitt has faced fire from the Sierra Club and others since he was first nominated to head up the EPA in 2016.
An EPA spokesman said that the campaign “may not be particularly successful,” but invited the group to go ahead and “spend your money” on the ads, ABC News wrote.
Not Playing Well with Others?
In the midst of this, Pruitt has alienated himself from colleagues for expressing a desire of taking over the Attorney General job, should President Trump decide to fire Attorney General Jeff Sessions, the Wall Street Journal reports. However, Pruitt’s job is “evidently not in danger,” despite the fact that the White House is reportedly working on an internal review of Pruitt following news that he may have rented a condo from a Washington lobbyist at below-market value, Newsweek writes.
In fact, President Trump apparently expressed support for Pruitt yesterday, telling him that he and other leaders “have your back;” White House chief of staff John Kelly made a similar call Tuesday, writes The Hill.