A fifth House Republican is calling for the resignation of Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt, saying, “there is way too much smoke around this man.”
“Yes, I do,” Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., said Monday as he answered a question on whether he thinks Pruitt should resign.
“My standard for calling for resignations is an [inspector general] report, an IG study, finding some facts,” he added.
He is the fifth House Republican to come out and call for Pruitt’s resignation, following Reps. Frank LoBiondo of New Jersey, Carlos Curbelo and Ileana Ros-lehtinen of Florida, and Elise Stefanik of New York.
Fitzpatrick said he thinks “everyone is under the same impression” that the EPA’s inspector general needs to conclude his investigation, “but, I mean, in some cases there is way too much smoke.”
The inspector general is conducting at least a dozen investigations into Pruitt’s travel and security expenses, including the use of a security detail on a vacation trip to Disneyland last year and a $43,000 soundproof booth.
[Related: Ethics office wants new scandals added to Pruitt investigation]
Over the weekend, it was reported that Pruitt had considered hiring an individual connected to lobbyists who had rented him a Capitol Hill bedroom at a reduced rate.
And Sunday night, the U.S. Office of Special Counsel said it is investigating charges that Pruitt retaliated against EPA employees who questioned his spending and management, Politico reported.
Fitzpatrick, speaking Monday in Horsham, Pa., also criticized the EPA’s lack of transparency, highlighting a report that the EPA had reportedly suppressed because it would become a “public relations nightmare” due to its findings on chemical contaminants found in drinking water, particularly near military bases.
Fitzpatrick called the controversy involving the toxic chemicals “Exhibit A” in demonstrating a lack of transparency in government.
“We need transparency in our government, and if we don’t get that that’s unacceptable,” Fitzpatrick said Monday. “Lack of transparency is always a bad thing,” but it’s “particularly bad when you have families, and children for that matter, that are drinking unsafe water.”
