Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt had his executive scheduler email the president of Chick-fil-A to arrange a meeting to discuss a “potential franchise opportunity” for his wife.
Pruitt’s directive led to scheduler Sydney Hupp arranging a call, which was later canceled, according to the Washington Post.
Pruitt eventually spoke with someone from the fast-food chain’s legal department to discuss his wife, Marlyn, becoming a franchisee.
“The subject of that phone call was an expression of interest in his wife becoming a Chick-fil-A franchisee,” Carrie Kurlander, a Chick-fil-A representative, told The Washington Post in an email.
“Administrator Pruitt’s wife started, but did not complete, the Chick-fil-A franchisee application,” Kurlander said.
The newspaper reported that multiple current and former EPA aides said Pruitt told them he was eager for his wife to start receiving a salary. Pruitt had voiced frustration by the high cost of maintaining homes in both Washington and Oklahoma, according to two of the sources.
Pruitt’s efforts on his wife’s behalf were revealed in emails released recently under a Freedom of Information Act request by the environmental group Sierra Club. The newspaper reported that the outreach did not end with Chick-fil-A. Pruitt also approached Matthew Swift, CEO of Concordia, a New York nonprofit organization.
Swift said he ultimately paid Marlyn Pruitt $2,000 plus travel expenses to assist in organizing the New York group’s annual conference last fall.
Federal ethics officials said the arrangements raises the specter of using his position for personal gain, which is a violation of federal ethics law, the newspaper underscored, citing the head of government ethics during the Obama administration.
[Related: Scott Pruitt blames EPA staff, policies for lavish security spending]
The activity surrounding his wife “raises the specter of misuse of public office,” said Don Fox, the former head of the Office of Government Ethics under Obama. “It’s not much different [from] if he [had] asked the aide to facilitate getting a franchise for himself.”
The arrangements were made by two sisters, Sydney and Millan Hupp. Sydney Hupp was the scheduler for the Chick-fil-A call, which Fox told the newspaper violated the law.
Sydney Hupp left the EPA in 2017.
“It is a misuse of the aide’s time to ask the aide to do something like this that is really for personal financial benefit,” said Fox.
Millan helped Pruitt find housing in Washington. It was recently reported that she told congressional aides that she made inquiries at the Trump International Hotel about buying Pruitt a used mattress while working at EPA.
