More Environmental Protection Agency staff are leaving the agency this week after Scott Pruitt, the former administrator, resigned on July 5, the agency confirmed to the Washington Examiner.
Hayley Ford, EPA’s White House liaison, and Lincoln Ferguson, with EPA’s communications office, are slated to depart the agency this week.
Jahan Wilcox, the Pruitt spokesman handling the agency’s response to the former EPA chief’s scandals, said Tuesday he would be leaving the agency to go to work on the Republican campaign trail.
The EPA confirmed the additional departures on Wednesday, and Chief of Staff Ryan Jackson thanked those departing for their service at the agency.
“I thank all those who are moving on to new endeavors for their service to EPA,” Jackson said in a statement to the Washington Examiner.
EPA Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler will address the agency staff at an assembly Wednesday afternoon, and press are invited to attend the event. In the past, Pruitt had generated controversy by barring media from such public events.
Wilcox, for one, had called a reporter a “piece of trash,” marking a contentious relationship with the press under Pruitt.
“I’m looking forward to addressing EPA employees today about how we work together to improve the Agency’s core functions,” Wheeler said in a Twitter post Wednesday. “As a former EPA career staffer, I deeply appreciate the work they do for the Agency & the American people.”
EPA will also be livestreaming Wheeler’s address.
