Scott Pruitt downplays his role in questionable spending, hiring practices at EPA

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt mostly bobbed and weaved as lawmakers questioned him Thursday about his role in various spending and ethics decisions at the agency.

Pruitt opened his much-anticipated testimony before Congress vowing to “take responsibility” for various ethics and spending accusations that have imperiled his job, assuring lawmakers he will “make changes,” but blaming the media for reporting “half truths” and saying critics want to derail his deregulatory agenda.