Scott Pruitt Is Safe—for Now

During the first week of April, as scandals piled on top of Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt, it looked like his job was in jeopardy. A handful of lawmakers, including two Republicans, called for him to resign after reports surfaced that he’d rented a Capitol Hill condo on unusually agreeable terms from the wife of a prominent energy lobbyist with business before the EPA. Top administration officials distanced themselves from Pruitt as the White House launched a review of his actions, and Chief of Staff John Kelly told President Trump it was time for the EPA chief to go.

Pruitt was already controversial. The former Oklahoma attorney general, who made a name for himself suing the agency he now runs, had drawn fire for his enlarged security detail, his habit of flying first class, and the $43,000 installation of a soundproof booth in his office, not to mention his disregard for climate science. But this time it felt like a line had been crossed, especially as damaging revelations kept coming, seemingly every hour. Reports surfaced of staff being reassigned or demoted for challenging him and of Pruitt using an obscure law to give two close aides hefty raises over White House objections. When the EPA’s general counsel walked back his initial assessment that the rental deal didn’t violate federal ethics laws, Pruitt looked like a goner.