EPA chief Scott Pruitt has a lot on his plate. As the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, Pruitt is tasked with ensuring that America’s environment remains protected. All too often, chemical spills, pollution, and other contaminates have harmed American communities.
Yet as we continue to learn more about Pruitt and his work at the EPA, a disturbing trend is emerging. A number of revelations suggest that Pruitt is using his office for his own personal enrichment. Most recently, it’s come to light that Pruitt was using EPA staff and his stature to secure work for his wife.
Allegedly, Pruitt used a top aide, EPA Office of Policy associate Administrator Samantha Dravis, to reach out to Republican donors to try to secure his wife work at one of their organizations. Certainly, such work seems to be far beneath a senior administrator. It appears that Dravis was pressured into conducting the job hunt and felt uncomfortable with her work. She has since left the EPA.
Apparently, at least some of the donors contacted balked at the request owing to conflicts of interest. However, Marlyn Pruitt was able to secure a temporary position at the Judicial Crisis Network as an independent contractor. It’s unclear what Mrs. Pruitt’s work entailed and how much she was paid. Media sources are describing Mrs. Pruitt as a former school nurse but her full resume remains unclear. Financial disclosures reveal that Mrs. Pruitt had no income exceeding $5,000 in either 2014 or 2015, before Scott Pruitt took over as EPA chief.
Mrs. Pruitt was referred to the Judicial Crisis Network by Leonard Leo, who is an executive vice president at the Federalist Society, a conservative organization. Leo is known for being a strong backer of Pruitt and the Federalist Society is among the more influential conservative groups in DC. The Judicial Crisis Network has said that it is happy with Pruitt’s work.
There are a few problems here, the most obvious being that Pruitt used an EPA employee—who is paid with taxpayer funds—to be his wife’s personal headhunter. Some have claimed that Dravis was working “full time” to land Mrs. Dravis a job. No matter how many hours were dedicated, this was a blatant waste of taxpayer resources. Scott Pruitt also failed to disclose his activities to the EPA’s ethics officials.
Further, many Americans, myself included, have grown tired of the insider swamp culture in Washington D.C. They say it’s not about what you know, but who you know. Certainly, that seems to be true regarding Mrs. Pruitt, although it’s pointless to pretend that she’s the only insider to get a job through personal connections.
Democrats do it. Republicans do it. Everyone else does it. Yet many Americans bought into and supported the claim made by President Trump that he’d “drain the swamp.” To see one of his top appointed officials wasting taxpayer resources so blatantly is disheartening, to say the least.
Worst yet, this is far from the first offense for Pruitt. The EPA chief rents a condo from a lobbyist who had previously met with Pruitt to discuss business. Apparently, Pruitt is renting that condo for $50 dollars a night, which is quite cheap for any type of unit in the D.C. metropolitan area.
(Credit: Facebook/PolitiFact)
Pruitt has also been lambasted for flying first-class whereas many government officials travel in economy class. Pruitt’s six-figure trip to Rome, where he extravagantly wined and dined, has also caught him flak.
A slip-up is a slip-up, but a trend seems to be emerging. If the reports are correct, Scott Pruitt is treating the EPA as his own personal concierge service, lavishing himself and his family with taxpayer “gifts” and benefits. I’m all for draining the swamp, and that starts with a comprehensive ethics review of Scott Pruitt and the appropriate corresponding actions.
