The question many have been asking — why doesn’t Scott Pruitt just quit? — was answered this afternoon when the EPA chief tendered his resignation. “I have accepted the resignation of Scott Pruitt as the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency,” President Donald Trump tweeted with the hour, adding,
Within the Agency Scott has done an outstanding job, and I will always be thankful to him for this. The Senate confirmed Deputy at EPA, Andrew Wheeler, will on Monday assume duties as the acting Administrator of the EPA. I have no doubt that Andy will continue on with our great and lasting EPA agenda. We have made tremendous progress and the future of the EPA is very bright!
Pruitt has been at the center of a number of controversies concerning his leadership, prompting many to assume it was only a matter of time before he resigned his post. Earlier this month House Democrats urged the Department of Justice “to investigate Pruitt for potential criminal conduct, alleging that he repeatedly violated federal anti-corruption laws by seeking to leverage his government position for personal gain.”
According to Fox News:
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In his resignation letter to Trump, Pruitt said: “It is extremely difficult for me to cease serving you in this role first because I count it a blessing to be serving you in any capacity, but also, because of the transformative work that is occurring.
“However, the unrelenting attacks on me personally [and] my family, are unprecedented and have taken a sizable toll on all of us,” Pruitt added.
