Scott Pruitt Dismantles EPA While Taking Industry Money

Timeline Eventconfirmed
environmental-destructionregulatory-capturecorruptionclimate-denialindustry-influence
Media Capture & ControlRegulatory CaptureFinancial Capture
Actors:Scott Pruitt, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Andrew Wheeler, Donald Trump, Fossil Fuel Industry
2017-02-07 · 1 min read

Scott Pruitt, who sued the EPA 14 times as Oklahoma Attorney General while taking 00,000+ from fossil fuel companies, became EPA Administrator and immediately began dismantling environmental protections. He installed a 3,000 soundproof phone booth, took 30+ first-class flights costing taxpayers 63,000, and lived in a 0/night condo owned by an energy lobbyist. Pruitt reversed the Clean Power Plan, withdrew from the Paris Agreement, rolled back 82+ environmental regulations, and fired EPA scientists while hiring industry consultants. He resigned under 14 federal investigations but his successor Andrew Wheeler, a former coal lobbyist, continued the deregulation agenda. EPA enforcement dropped 72% and criminal prosecutions hit a 30-year low.

Sources

  1. Scott Pruitt Is Carrying Out His E.P.A. Agenda in SecretThe New York Times(2017-08-11)
  2. All of Scott Pruitt scandals — a complete guideVox(2018-07-05)
  3. EPA enforcement under Trump drops to 30-year lowNBC News(2020-01-15)