EPA/ETHICS/SCOTT PRUITT/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “U.S. Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt, who pleased President Donald Trump with his aggressive efforts to roll back environmental regulations, resigned on Thursday [5-7-18] under heavy fire for a series of ethics controversies. Pruitt had been under scrutiny for months for his first-class travel at taxpayer expense, lavish spending on security, the installation of a $43,000 soundproof phone booth in his office, and accusations he used his position to receive favors such as a discounted rental on a high-end condo from an energy lobbyist’s wife. Many Democratic lawmakers and even some fellow Republicans had called for Pruitt’s resignation…Trump announced the resignation on Twitter and said EPA Deputy Administrator Andrew Wheeler, a former mining industry lobbyist, will become the regulatory agency’s acting chief on Monday [[5-9-18]. Wheeler is widely expected to take up Pruitt’s efforts to roll back and streamline regulation.”
–John Whitesides, “Under fire for ethics scandals, EPA chief Pruitt resigns,” Reuters, July 5, 2018 12:50 pm