At Hearings About His EPA Leadership Pruitt Remains Defiant

FEATURING MARTIN HAYDEN – Scott Pruitt, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency faced back-to-back Congressional hearings on Thursday with lawmakers questioning him about his conduct as well as his policies.

Mr. Pruitt, who has faced strong calls for his resignation, remained defiant, defending his leadership and blaming his aides and staff for some of the scandals swirling around him at the televised hearings on front of the subpanels of the Energy and Commerce and the Appropriations committees.

Pruitt is under fire for authorizing the building of a very expensive private phone booth in his office, going against White House approval for raises for some of his staff, and leasing a very low-rent condo in Washington DC from the head of a lobby group.

But his undoing of years of public protections from corporate polluters might be the real scandal. The Trump Administration has proposed cutting more than $6 billion from the agency Pruitt heads.

Martin Hayden, Vice President, Policy & Legislation at Earth Justice.