Pruitt’s office discussed hiring friend of his landlord: report

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt’s staff discussed hiring a friend of a lobbyist whose wife rented a Capitol Hill condo to Pruitt for $50 a night, The New York Times reported Sunday.

Pruitt’s chief of staff, Ryan Jackson, and lobbyist J. Steven Hart exchanged emails on the matter, according to documents obtained through a lawsuit filed by the Sierra Club. 

The emails show Hart appealing to Jackson about finding a job for Jimmy Guiliano, a family friend of Hart’s and recent college graduate. Hart sent the email while Pruitt was living in a condo Hart’s wife owned. 

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Hart told Jackson that Hart’s wife “has talked to Scott about this kid who is important to us. He told Vicki to talk to you about how to handle this,” the Times reported.

Jackson responded that he was “on it.”

An agency spokesman told the Times that Guiliano did not receive a job at EPA.

Jahan Wilcox, a spokesman for the EPA, told The New York Times that the emails from Hart were “unsolicited and did not impact any agency policy outcomes.”

The emails also disclose that Hart had emailed with agency staff about matters relevant to HSBC and Coca-Cola, despite his past claims that he did not have lobbying business before the EPA.

Pruitt has maintained his role despite an assortment of ethical controversies that have been revealed in recent months.

In addition to renting the Capitol Hill condo, Pruitt also sought to help get his wife a Chick-fil-A franchise, had staffers buy him personal items and seek out a used Trump Hotel mattress and had a $43,000 soundproof booth installed in his office.

Pruitt has brushed aside many of those controversies, blaming them on staff or claiming they are politically motivated.

President Trump has continued to stand by Pruitt amid those issues, praising him for cutting regulations and implementing his agenda.

Many Republicans, however, have grown tired of Pruitt’s behavior.

Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) called Pruitt “about as swampy as you get.”

Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), who’s been an outspoken critic of Pruitt over his scandals, told reporters earlier this month that Pruitt is “acting like a moron.”