EPAchief’s job not assured after Trump’s praise— and ire
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump offered a measured gesture of support for the embattled head of the Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday, but those words of encouragement for Scott Pruitt also came with aWhiteHouse warning about the ethical questions surrounding his travel spending and ties toWashington lobbyists.
“I hope he’s going to be great,” Trump told reporters, declining to reiterate publicly his private praise for Pruitt’s work.
In a phone call Monday, Trump told the EPA chief that “we’ve got your back” and urged him to “keep his head up” and “keep fighting,” according to two administration officials. Trump’s call was quickly followed by one from chief of staff John Kelly, who laid out the White House’s displeasure over being caught blindsided by some of the ethical problems raised, according to two other officials.
Those officials said the praise referred to Pruitt’s work in loosening environmental regulations and his success at getting under the skin of environmental groups. But they added that the tone of Trump’s callwas not entirely positive.
Trump has repeatedly praised endangered members of his administration while privately plotting their ouster and interviewing replacements. That tendency, and Trump’s tepidwords Tuesday, suggested that Pruitt’s future at EPA is not assured despite the president’s apparently high regard for him over the past year. Pruitt has come under intense scrutiny for his use of a Capitol Hill condominium owned by the wife of prominentWashington lobbyist StevenHart, whose firm represents fossil fuel companies. An agency ethics official at the EPA has insisted that Pruitt’s lease didn’t violate federal ethics rules.
A memo signed by Kevin Minoli contends that Pruitt’s $ 50- a- night rental payments constitute a fair market rate. Pruitt’s lease, however, required him to pay just for nights he occupied in the unit. Pruitt actually paid an average of about $ 1,000 amonth.
But current rental listings for two- bedroom apartments in the neighborhood show they typically go for far more than what Pruitt paid. A two- bedroom townhome on the same block as the one leased by Pruitt was advertised for rent on Monday at $ 3,750 a month.