"For Pruitt Aides, the Boss’s Personal Life Was Part of the Job"

"WASHINGTON — Senior staff members at the Environmental Protection Agency frequently felt pressured by Scott Pruitt, the administrator, to help in personal matters and obtain special favors for his family, according to interviews with four current and former E.P.A. officials who served as top political aides to Mr. Pruitt.

The officials said that Mr. Pruitt, who “had a clear sense of entitlement,” in the words of one of them, indicated that he expected staff members’ assistance with matters outside the purview of government.

The aides said the administrator — who is the subject of multiple investigations over ethics and other issues, but has been defended by President Trump as a champion of environmental deregulation — had also made it clear that he had no hesitation in leveraging his stature as a cabinet member to solicit favors himself."

Eric Lipton, Steve Eder, Lisa Friedman, and Hiroko Tabuchi report for the New York Times June 15, 2018.

SEE ALSO:

"EPA: Oversight Chairman Wants To Interview Ex-Pruitt Aide" (Greenwire)

 

Source: NY Times, 06/15/2018