White House spokesman: ‘I can’t speak to the future of Scott Pruitt’

A White House spokesman on Thursday did not commit to supporting Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt amid numerous scandals.

“I can’t speak to the future of Scott Pruitt,” deputy press secretary Hogan Gidley told Fox News in an interview.

“I can just talk about where we are now and that is that the White House is aware of these reports,” he continued.

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Pruitt is facing calls to resign following news that he rented a condo at a below-market rate from a lobbyist whose husband’s lobbying firm represents energy industry clients. Pruitt paid $50 per night, but only when he slept there.

The EPA also gave two senior aides raises after the White House refused his request. Pruitt has denied knowledge of the raises and reversed them.

Gidley’s remarks came a day after his boss, press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, told reporters that “the president’s not” OK with Pruitt’s rental accommodation. She also declined to address whether President Trump has confidence in Pruitt.

“We’re reviewing the situation,” Sanders said. “When we have had the chance to have a deeper dive on it, we’ll let you know the outcomes of that, but we’re currently reviewing that here at the White House.”

Gidley told Fox on Thursday that “some questions need to be answered” about Pruitt’s controversies.

“The president wants, and demands, quite frankly, from his Cabinet and from all his staffers the highest level of ethics, ethical behavior. We want people to comply with ethics,” the spokesman said.

“But in the meantime, we’re looking into this because the president wants that level of accountability for everyone who works there,” he said.