BREAKING: SCOTT PRUITT RESIGNS! [UPDATE: Here’s more on Pruitt’s replacement]

by The Right Scoop

Trump just tweeted that he has accepted the resignation of Scott Pruitt as head of the EPA:


Wow. I know the administration said they were looking into these new allegations and my guess is that it was their choice, not Pruitt’s, for him to resign.

Here is Pruitt’s resignation letter to Trump:

Well I guess I was wrong. Sounds like Pruitt is stepping out on his own due to the overwhelming personal attacks.

UPDATE: Here’s more on the man that replaces Pruitt:

Andrew Wheeler, sworn in as EPA’s deputy administrator in late April after a six-month confirmation battle, has spent decades in what President Donald Trump calls “the swamp,” first as a top aide to Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) at the Environment and Public Works Committee, then as an energy lobbyist for clients such as the politically active coal company Murray Energy.

“Wheeler is much smarter and will try to keep his efforts under the radar in implementing Trump’s destructive agenda,” said Jeremy Symons, vice president for political affairs at the Environmental Defense Fund. “That should scare anyone who breathes.”

Another person who has worked with Wheeler said: “He’s like Mike Pence is to Trump. … He’s behind the scenes. He’ll get a lot done and doesn’t need to be in the news.”

Wheeler, in contrast, came to the agency steeped in its work. He spent four years working at EPA at the start of his career, before going on to work for Inhofe and the Senate environment committee. He helped create the federal ethanol mandate that remains a major source of friction for EPA, dividing Republicans in the Senate. He also represented coal magnate Bob Murray as a lobbyist through the battles over the Obama administration’s climate regulations for power plants, and then later in trying to persuade the Energy Department to bail out financially ailing coal power plants.

Former Hill colleagues emphasize his ability to find common ground with political opponents, including former Sen. Jim Jeffords (I-Vt.), and liberal former Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer of California, both of whom have chaired the environment committee. Matt Dempsey, who worked for Wheeler under Inhofe, said Wheeler’s ability to find common cause was one factor in the Jeffords-Inhofe and Jeffords-Boxer relationships that led to passage of highway bills and other major legislation.

“A lot of that is due to Andrew,” said Dempsey, now a managing director at FTI Consulting. “He has an ability to work across the aisle and get things done.”

“He is someone who, generally on policy, though we might not always agree, is someone who will listen to the other side of the aisle on how we formulate policy,” a Democratic aide who has worked with Wheeler told POLITICO, noting that that trait could be especially important if the House or Senate flips after the midterms. “Being a product of the Senate and of the Congress, it will be much easier for those who are here to interact with him.”

Among other things, the Democratic aide said, Wheeler respects Congress’ role in the authorization and appropriations process and would be much more willing to appear at congressional hearings — unlike Pruitt, who has been scarce on the Hill.

The aide also said they think Wheeler’s reputation as a “rule-driven” staffer would ensure stricter adherence to ethics standards at the agency.

Wheeler may also be better able to repair the fractured relationship between the political appointees at the top of the agency and career staff, who have felt left out or ignored by Pruitt on key issues. Wheeler has spent some of his first days back at the agency visiting the offices of career staff and making introductions, a marked change from his boss, according to an EPA official.

“The impression he creates is very personable, respectful, good listener,” said another EPA employee. “He’s very interested in being involved in the substantive issues. He’s ready to get involved in our issues.”

Still, most of the people interviewed agreed that Wheeler would advance Trump’s and Pruitt’s agenda of undoing major Obama-era regulations, including the power plant climate rule and a sweeping measure on streams and wetlands.

“I think that Andrew is well aware of the president’s agenda, and the parts of the agenda that are the responsibility of the EPA,“ said Andy Ehrlich, now a partner at the lobbying and political consulting firm Total Spectrum, who recruited Wheeler from the Hill in 2009 to the law firm Faegre Baker Daniels and worked with him for years. “I would expect based on my experience with Andrew to do what he can to see that the president’s agenda at the EPA is fulfilled in a methodical and thoughtful way.“

UPDATE:


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