Environmental groups on Wednesday started a campaign to oust Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt, citing what they say is his propensity for “spending lavishly on himself.”
The Sierra Club and National Resources Defense Council are among 10 groups aiming to unseat Pruitt, seeking to bring attention to recent revelations about his spending on first-class travel and personal security on foreign flights.
On Wednesday night, the campaign plans to project a message onto the EPA headquarters building in Washington calling for Pruitt to step down.
The projection will feature images criticizing Pruitt’s “wasteful spending of taxpayer money on luxury travel, ongoing investigations of his actions while in office, and his dangerous policies that have imperiled public health.”
The Sierra Club also plans to run “Boot Pruitt” ads on cable news networks, including “Fox & Friends” and MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”
Pruitt spent more than $105,000 on first-class flights in his first year, according to documents the EPA provided to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
A watchdog group last week released documents showing the EPA spent nearly $31,000 on Pruitt’s security detail during a June trip to Italy.
The EPA inspector general is investigating Pruitt for his use of private and military flights and his frequent travel as administrator to his home state of Oklahoma, where he served as attorney general. The internal watchdog is also probing whether Pruitt broke federal spending laws by using $25,000 in taxpayer money to install a secure phone booth in his office.
Pruitt has deflected criticism of his travel habits by saying he faces “unprecedented” security threats from taunting travelers, which has prompted EPA career security staff to grant him waivers to sit in first class.
EPA spokesman Jahan Wilcox dismissed the campaign to unseat Pruitt on Wednesday, noting the Sierra Club had already deemed Pruitt “unfit to serve” before he was confirmed.
“A campaign funded by the Sierra Club running ads on MSNBC and ‘Morning Joe’ attempting to influence President Trump may not be particularly successful,” Wilcox told the Washington Examiner. “But please don’t take my word for it, spend your money. Administrator Pruitt is proud to advance President Trump’s agenda on regulatory certainty and environmental stewardship.”
