National Review calls for Pruitt to be replaced

The conservative magazine National Review called on Wednesday for Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator Scott Pruitt to be replaced.

In an editorial published Wednesday, the magazine applauded Pruitt’s deregulatory work during his tenure, but advocated for his replacement due to his involvement in numerous scandals.

“… [W]e are now at a point where a good week for Pruitt sees only one report of behavior that is bizarre or venal,” the paper’s editorial board wrote. 

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The board went on to list a number of investigations into Pruitt’s time as EPA administrator, including enlisting aides to secure a job for his wife and to get him a discounted mattress from one of President Trump’s hotels, as well as giving his top aides significant pay bumps and providing mixed responses over whether he knew about those raises.

“This is no way for any public official to treat taxpayers. It also makes it practically impossible for Pruitt to make the case for the Trump administration’s environmental policies — a case that we continue to believe deserves to be made,” the board wrote. 

The National Review joins the right-leaning publication The Weekly Standard in calling for Pruitt to step down.

Last month, The Weekly Standard published an editorial that similarly praised Pruitt for his work but charged the administrator with inviting controversy.

“As those who view the environmentalist movement with skepticism, we find the whole thing deeply regrettable. But we reject the common assumption that public officials should get a pass so long as they hold the right policy opinions, whatever those opinions are,” editors wrote.

“We share Pruitt’s views on environmental deregulation and value his accomplishments in office. But the time has come for him to go,” they added.

Pruitt, who is the subject of nearly a dozen federal investigations, has brushed off mounting pressure for him to resign. Trump has not made visible efforts to push him out of his post.