EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, one of Trump’s most anti-LGBTQ cabinet members, resigns
Resignation was likely triggered by intense scrutiny over spending, ethical, and policy decisions
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt, one of the Trump administration’s most polarizing and controversial figures — and one of its most anti-LGBTQ members — has resigned.
President Trump announced that he had accepted Pruitt’s resignation on Thursday via Twitter. EPA Deputy Administrator Andrew Wheeler, a former coal industry lobbyist, will become the acting head of the agency until the Senate confirms a new appointee.
“I have accepted the resignation of Scott Pruitt as the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. Within the Agency Scott has done an outstanding job, and I will always be thankful to him for this,” the president tweeted.
“The Senate confirmed Deputy at EPA, Andrew Wheeler, will on Monday assume duties as the acting Administrator of the EPA. I have no doubt that Andy will continue on with our great and lasting EPA agenda. We have made tremendous progress and the future of the EPA is very bright!”
…on Monday assume duties as the acting Administrator of the EPA. I have no doubt that Andy will continue on with our great and lasting EPA agenda. We have made tremendous progress and the future of the EPA is very bright!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 5, 2018
Throughout his tenure at the organization, Pruitt garnered significant scrutiny — partly for his beliefs surrounding science and dismissing climate change as a hoax, and partly for a number of spending and ethical scandals that led Republicans in Congress to launch probes on Pruitt’s managerial style and spending decisions.
Pruitt first came under scrutiny after it was revealed he had rented a Capitol Hill condominium from the wife of an energy lobbyist for as little as $50 a night, according to The Washington Post, sparking questions about whether such behavior was ethical. That revelation triggered several other inquiries related to the high cost of Pruitt’s travel on the government dime, as well as the cost of his security detail, eventually launching a dozen probes into various decisions made by EPA leadership, reports CNBC.
“It is extremely difficult for me to cease serving you in this role first because I count it as a blessing to be serving you in any capacity, but also because of the transformative work that is occurring,” Pruitt said in his resignation letter, which was posted by Fox News. “However, the unrelenting attacks on me personally, my family, are unprecedented and have taken a sizable toll on all of us.”
Pruitt also recently appeared back in the headlines after a young mother posted a video of herself calmly confronting Pruitt at a local restaurant and telling him he should resign due to some of the policy decisions he’s made.
Perhaps most concerning about Pruitt, a former state senator from Oklahoma, was his social conservatism, including his advocacy on behalf of banning same-sex marriage and prioritizing “religious freedom” measures for Christians, who he claimed were being pushed out of “the public square.”
Earlier this year, Politico uncovered six hours of tape containing comments that Pruitt made on talk radio shows in 2005, when he was a state senator. In the tapes, Pruitt condemned federal judges as a “judicial monarchy” that is “the most grievous threat that we have today.”
He spoke unfavorably about Islam, secularism, and LGBTQ rights. He also rejected the theory of evolution, saying there wasn’t enough scientific evidence to back up the theory. Some of his views were even posted on his website in 2010 when he ran for Oklahoma attorney general.
In one recording, Pruitt, a former Baptist deacon, acknowledged that the founders of the United States did not want a church to run the government. But he also said that society had to be based on religious ideals, or else it would devolve into “chaos.”
He frequently accused minority religions and secularists of attempting to silence or ostracize conservative Christians, claiming that there was a need for more opportunities for Christians to express their views without fear of retribution.
“I believe that it’s time for us to say, let us be truthful and honest about who we are as a country because if we protect the principles of the First Amendment, we will respect all religions and each will be able to freely exercise what they believe in the public square,” Pruitt said.
He also floated the idea of calling a constitutional convention to debate amendments to allow religious expression in government, outlaw abortion, and ban same-sex marriage.
“It scares me to a large degree to go into something like a constitutional convention, ’cause that means that we’re going to have to really be educated, and informed, and debate,” he said. “But you know what? Maybe it’s time.”
According to CNBC, Pruitt is reported to want to seek higher office, and may consider running for governor of Oklahoma or for one of its U.S. Senate seats — meaning that the nation’s LGBTQ community may not have heard the last of him.
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