President Trump said Thursday that Scott Pruitt resigned on his own accord as chief of the Environmental Protection Agency, and that he was not forced to quit because of various ethics and spending allegations.
“It was very much up to him,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One in route to a rally in Great Falls, Montana. The decision has been in the works for a couple of days, Trump said.
“We’ve been talking about it for a little while. Scott is a terrific guy. And he came to me and he said I have such great confidence in the administration. I don’t want to be a distraction. And I think Scott felt that he was a distraction. He’ll go on to great things, and he’s going to have a wonderful life, I hope. But he felt that he did not want to be a distraction for an administration that he has a lot of faith in.”
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Trump said there was “no final straw” that prompted Pruitt to resign. Pruitt had been under the microscope for months after a number of allegations.
He was the subject of at least a dozen federal investigations, over issues that included his $50-per-night condo rental deal with the wife of an energy lobbyist who had business before the EPA, his spending more than $3 million on his 24-hour security detail, frequent first-class travel, reports that he retaliated against employees who questioned his judgment, his sending staff on personal errands, and his use of them to try to find a job for his wife.
Trump had been hesitant to fire Pruitt because of their shared interest in weakening and delaying Obama administration environmental regulations.
“Scott Pruitt did an outstanding job inside of the EPA,” Trump said Thursday. “We’ve gotten rid of record-breaking regulations. Within the agency, we were extremely happy.”
The president also had kind words for Andrew Wheeler, EPA’s No. 2 official who will now become acting administrator. Trump could choose to nominate Wheeler to be permanent administrator, but he would have to be confirmed again by the Senate.
“He was very much an early Trump supporter,” Trump said of Wheeler. “He was with us on the campaign. He is a very environmental person. He’s a big believer, and he’s going to do a fantastic job.”
