The Environmental Protection Agency’s Administrator has been shirking congressional inquiries about politicization within his agency, it was revealed during a hearing Tuesday.
Scott Pruitt faced a grilling from Democratic Senators on the Environment and Public Works Committee. He was peppered with questions about his environmental record, his responsiveness to Congress, and prior comments about the President.
Pruitt claimed ignorance when asked about a New York Times report last month revealing a no-bid contract awarded to a Republican-supporting firm to monitor EPA employees and their attitudes toward Donald Trump.
The EPA Administrator alleged he was not aware of the report.
“You should be, because both Senator Whitehouse and Senator Harris have written you a letter about it that you haven’t’ responded to,” Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) shot back.
Pruitt later claimed the contract was for clippings services, and that the relationship had been terminated. He then committed that he would respond to outstanding inquiries from senators about the episode.
Van Hollen went on to bring up another episode of alleged political motivations at Pruitt’s agency. Last year, the EPA cut off a funding grant to the Chesapeake Bay Journal shortly after the publication ran an op-ed critical of President Trump.
Pruitt assured Senators on Tuesday that the decision to pull funding from the journal was being reconsidered.
“It should not have gotten to this point. And it worries me as a window into politicization at the EPA,“ Van Hollen said. “I hope you will work with us to get all the documents regarding this decision.”
Prior to the exchange, Pruitt’s overall record thus far was criticized by Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.).
“During the time that you have now been director, the agency has taken fifteen actions related to air quality,” Sen. Merkley said during the hearing. “Fifteen of those diminish air quality.”
“Right now you’re zero for fifteen,” Merkley added, refuting Pruitt’s claims he is concerned about air safety.
As the former Attorney General of Oklahoma, Pruitt was a constant adversary of the EPA, and frequently sued the agency to overturn rules implemented during the Obama administration. At the helm of the agency, Pruitt has ignored, delayed, or moved to repeal EPA clean air and water rules, toxic chemical regulations, and enforcement actions.
While Pruitt has dutifully carried out the President’s roll-back of environmental regulation, the EPA administrator was also asked about prior comments he made that were critical of Trump.
An oversight group, Documented, released audio of a February 2016 radio interview, in which Pruitt warned that Trump would disregard the Constitution.
“I believe that Donald Trump in the White House would be more abusive to the Constitution than Barack Obama,” Pruitt said, while appearing on the The Pat Campell Show” two years ago.
Those comments were dredged back up during Tuesday’s hearing by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.).
Pruitt claimed he didn’t recall the interview, but that he doesn’t “echo that today at all.”
