Should President Trump fire Scott Pruitt? | The Tylt

EPA Chief Scott Pruitt has found himself embroiled in a number of scandals involving his spending habits and a shady deal with a gas industry lobbyist involving a Capitol Hill condominium.

Pruitt has come under scrutiny over his accommodations in Washington after ABC News reported last week that he rented a room in a luxury townhouse co-owned by the wife of a top gas industry lobbyist. That same day, Bloomberg News reported that Pruitt paid $50-a-night for the room, well below market value for a place in that neighborhood...The ethical storm over Pruitt’s housing comes amid a groundswell of criticism over his spending.

Pruitt spent between $2,000 and $2,600 on first-class flights to Oklahoma, and regularly books $1,400 to $4,000 flights to Boston, New York and Corpus Christi, Texas, according to The Washington Post. He often stays at luxury hotels. Pruitt’s international travel costs are especially high. His trip to Italy for an environmental summit last June cost more than $120,000. Pruitt’s trip to Morocco in December to promote liquefied natural gas ― a bizarre decision for an EPA administrator ― cost nearly $40,000, according to E&E News.

Many believe the excessive spending alone is enough to give Pruitt the boot.

And an Atlantic story outlining how Pruitt bypassed the White House to give his aides pay increases adds to the list of reasons Trump should fire him.

But despite the controversies, Trump appears to be defending his EPA chief. According to Politico, White House Chief of Staff John Kelly wants to fire the scandal-scarred EPA chief, but Trump wants to keep him around. Scandals aside, Pruitt is one of Trump's most effective cabinet secretaries when it comes to dismantling Obama-era policy. A few high-priced flights hardly seem a good enough reason to let him go just yet.

Pruitt is doing the job President Donald Trump wants — including an announcement Monday that the agency will reverse the Obama administration’s attempt to tighten fuel efficiency standards for cars and trucks. Multiple people close to the president still argue that Pruitt is one of Trump’s most effective Cabinet members in making policy.

Pruitt is being targeted because he's effective at doing what liberals hate, plain and simple.