EPA/JOHN KELLY/SCOTT PRUITT/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “White House Chief of Staff John Kelly told President Donald Trump last week that he is convinced Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt needs to step down after a series of negative reports about his spending habits and management style, a White House official said Friday [4-6-18]. Though Mr. Kelly and other White House aides have concluded Mr. Pruitt should leave, the president is not ready to fire him, the official said. Mr. Trump welcomes the deregulatory measures taken by Mr. Pruitt and also values him as a strong advocate for the president’s agenda, this person said… An exit by Mr. Pruitt would come in the midst of a high-level staff shake-up by the president. Mr. Trump recently dismissed his secretary of state and national security adviser, and tapped a new appointee for the Central Intelligence Agency. Two of those positions will require Senate approval for their replacements, as would be the case for the EPA administrator.”
-Peter Nicholas, “White House Chief of Staff Urges Trump to Remove EPA Chief Pruitt,” The Wall Street Journal, April 6, 2018 1:00 pm