Dems ramp up bid to oust Pruitt

Senate Democrats are escalating their efforts to oust Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Adminstrator Scott Pruitt with a formal resolution calling on him to resign or be fired.

Democrats said Wednesday that between his aggressive deregulatory agenda and numerous scandals in recent weeks, Pruitt has no place at the EPA.

The senators plan to introduce in the coming days a “sense of the Senate” resolution calling for Pruitt to be removed.

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“I believe it is time for his imperial tenure to end,” Sen. Tom Udall (N.M.), top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee subpanel overseeing the EPA’s budget, told reporters Wednesday on Capitol Hill.

“Not only has Scott Pruitt undermined critical environmental and health protections, he appears to be ignoring basic ethics rules that protect taxpayers from fraud and abuse,” Udall said.

“Scott Pruitt has misused taxpayer dollars while enhancing his own personal perks. He has terrorized staff and he has driven out great institutional knowledge. He has illegally delayed implementation of new and existing law,” he continued.

Pruitt has been under fire in recent weeks due to reports that he paid the wife of a prominent energy lobbyist $50 a night for the use of a condo and overspent taxpayer money on a round-the-clock security team and first-class travel. In addition, his deregulatory efforts at the EPA are unpopular with Democrats.

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) lent his support to the effort to oust Pruitt.

“On policy, what Scott Pruitt is doing at the EPA is incredibly dangerous for kids’ health and the environment. Decision after decision comes out of his office, making it crystal clear he’s siding with special, powerful interests, over the interests of average Americans,” he said.

“When it comes to the way Pruitt conducts himself as a member of the president’s Cabinet, a few words come to mind to describe him: elitism, corruption, entitlement, hypocrisy, fiscal profligacy.”

Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) said Pruitt’s leadership of the EPA has been “as toxic as a Superfund site.”

“He has made the EPA stand for Every Polluter’s Ally, and he does that every single day,” Markey continued.

EPA spokesman Jahan Wilcox defended Pruitt, saying he’s made major progress at the agency.

“From advocating to leave the Paris Accord, working to repeal Obama’s Clean Power Plan and [Waters of the United States], declaring a war on lead and cleaning up toxic Superfund sites, Administrator Pruitt is focused on advancing President Trump’s agenda of regulatory certainty and environmental stewardship,” Wilcox said in a statement.

House Democrats are expected to introduce a similar resolution soon, led by Rep. Kathy Castor (D-Fla.).

Republicans have so far resisted efforts to oust Pruitt, deferring to the White House to investigate.