Washington
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt has come under fire for reports of frequent trips to his home state of Oklahoma and travel overseas at taxpayer expense. His security detail is reportedly three times the size of those for people who previously held the position, and pricey upgrades he made to his office have attracted scrutiny.
Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., said in a statement on Thursday that Pruitt will be noted as “the worst administrator in EPA history.”
“In 14 short months, Administrator Pruitt has gutted the EPA’s core mission to safeguard the air we breathe and the water we drink,” Welch said in a statement. “Throughout his tenure, he has defiantly thumbed his nose at the taxpayer with reckless spending on travel, security and office amenities.”
A record-breaking number of lawmakers in the House and Senate signed on to a resolution calling for Pruitt’s immediate resignation.
Welch and 130 other Democrats are sponsoring the measure in the House.
Thirty-nine senators, including Sens. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., are sponsoring a parallel measure in the Senate.
The resolution charges that Pruitt has misused public funds, failed to complete the agency’s regulation and enforcement responsibilities, and that under his leadership, the agency is “hemorrhaging staff.”
The legislation calls on Pruitt to resign, and for President Donald Trump to appoint somebody to replace him.
Leahy said on Thursday that he opposed Pruitt’s nomination to the post, and that he has been fighting to maintain funding for environmental programs, despite recommendations from the Trump administration to cut them.
“From the start, I’ve been concerned about Administrator Pruitt’s attacks on bedrock environmental protections and norms,” Leahy said. “Now we also have real reason to be concerned about his failure to be a responsible steward of taxpayer dollars.”
Leahy said Pruitt’s record on environmental and public health issues worsened “and to jaw-dropping degrees.”
Despite the high numbers of sponsors for the resolution, it is unlikely to advance without Republican support.