SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt speaks after U.S. President Donald Trump announced his decision to pull the United States out of the Paris climate agreement in the Rose Garden at the White House June 1, 2017 in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
'We Got Your Back': As Pruitt Drowns in Scandal, Trump and Kelly Rush to His Defense
Words of encouragement from the White House come as green groups are pushing harder than ever for Pruitt's ouster
Apr 03, 2018
With EPA chief Scott Pruitt under fire for flying first-class on the taxpayer's dime, approving a pipeline project backed by his oil lobbyist landlord, and giving his two "favorite" aides a big raise over the objections of White House staffers, President Donald Trump rushed to his scandal-ridden cabinet member's defense in a phone call Monday night, telling him to "keep fighting" and insisting "we got your back."
"Whether it's handouts to the fossil fuel industry or first class luxuries for himself, Pruitt is the ultimate example of the Trump administration's corruption."
--Lukas Ross, Friends of the Earth
"Keep your head up," the president reportedly added.
White House chief of staff John Kelly then doubled-down on Trump's reassurances in a conversation with Pruitt Tuesday morning, a call that came just hours after Politico reported that Kelly has considered ousting the EPA chief in the coming weeks.
While previous reports indicated that Trump is angry at the flood of negative headlines Pruitt has generated in recent days, oil lobbyists and White House staffers have maintained that Pruitt's success in implementing the president's anti-environment agenda has kept him in his job.
EPA spokesman Jahan Wilcox insisted in a statement on Monday that "Administrator Pruitt is focused on advancing President Trump's agenda of regulatory certainty and environmental stewardship"--stewardship that apparently entails gutting regulations aimed at protecting the nation's water and rolling back anti-smog fuel efficiency standards.
As Pruitt receives words of encouragement from his bosses, green groups and government watchdogs are pushing harder than ever for his ouster.
Building on the "Boot Pruitt" campaign launched by a coalition of environmental organizations last week, Friends of the Earth on Tuesday announced plans to drive a truck displaying the message "Stop the Corruption. #FirePruitt" around EPA headquarters, Congress, and the EPA chief's former condo rental as he attends a private event with auto executives.
"Scott Pruitt prefers conspiring in private with polluters rather than defending his corrupt agenda in public," Lukas Ross, climate and energy campaigner at Friends of the Earth, said in a statement on Tuesday. "Whether it's handouts to the fossil fuel industry or first class luxuries for himself, Pruitt is the ultimate example of the Trump administration's corruption."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
With EPA chief Scott Pruitt under fire for flying first-class on the taxpayer's dime, approving a pipeline project backed by his oil lobbyist landlord, and giving his two "favorite" aides a big raise over the objections of White House staffers, President Donald Trump rushed to his scandal-ridden cabinet member's defense in a phone call Monday night, telling him to "keep fighting" and insisting "we got your back."
"Whether it's handouts to the fossil fuel industry or first class luxuries for himself, Pruitt is the ultimate example of the Trump administration's corruption."
--Lukas Ross, Friends of the Earth
"Keep your head up," the president reportedly added.
White House chief of staff John Kelly then doubled-down on Trump's reassurances in a conversation with Pruitt Tuesday morning, a call that came just hours after Politico reported that Kelly has considered ousting the EPA chief in the coming weeks.
While previous reports indicated that Trump is angry at the flood of negative headlines Pruitt has generated in recent days, oil lobbyists and White House staffers have maintained that Pruitt's success in implementing the president's anti-environment agenda has kept him in his job.
EPA spokesman Jahan Wilcox insisted in a statement on Monday that "Administrator Pruitt is focused on advancing President Trump's agenda of regulatory certainty and environmental stewardship"--stewardship that apparently entails gutting regulations aimed at protecting the nation's water and rolling back anti-smog fuel efficiency standards.
As Pruitt receives words of encouragement from his bosses, green groups and government watchdogs are pushing harder than ever for his ouster.
Building on the "Boot Pruitt" campaign launched by a coalition of environmental organizations last week, Friends of the Earth on Tuesday announced plans to drive a truck displaying the message "Stop the Corruption. #FirePruitt" around EPA headquarters, Congress, and the EPA chief's former condo rental as he attends a private event with auto executives.
"Scott Pruitt prefers conspiring in private with polluters rather than defending his corrupt agenda in public," Lukas Ross, climate and energy campaigner at Friends of the Earth, said in a statement on Tuesday. "Whether it's handouts to the fossil fuel industry or first class luxuries for himself, Pruitt is the ultimate example of the Trump administration's corruption."
With EPA chief Scott Pruitt under fire for flying first-class on the taxpayer's dime, approving a pipeline project backed by his oil lobbyist landlord, and giving his two "favorite" aides a big raise over the objections of White House staffers, President Donald Trump rushed to his scandal-ridden cabinet member's defense in a phone call Monday night, telling him to "keep fighting" and insisting "we got your back."
"Whether it's handouts to the fossil fuel industry or first class luxuries for himself, Pruitt is the ultimate example of the Trump administration's corruption."
--Lukas Ross, Friends of the Earth
"Keep your head up," the president reportedly added.
White House chief of staff John Kelly then doubled-down on Trump's reassurances in a conversation with Pruitt Tuesday morning, a call that came just hours after Politico reported that Kelly has considered ousting the EPA chief in the coming weeks.
While previous reports indicated that Trump is angry at the flood of negative headlines Pruitt has generated in recent days, oil lobbyists and White House staffers have maintained that Pruitt's success in implementing the president's anti-environment agenda has kept him in his job.
EPA spokesman Jahan Wilcox insisted in a statement on Monday that "Administrator Pruitt is focused on advancing President Trump's agenda of regulatory certainty and environmental stewardship"--stewardship that apparently entails gutting regulations aimed at protecting the nation's water and rolling back anti-smog fuel efficiency standards.
As Pruitt receives words of encouragement from his bosses, green groups and government watchdogs are pushing harder than ever for his ouster.
Building on the "Boot Pruitt" campaign launched by a coalition of environmental organizations last week, Friends of the Earth on Tuesday announced plans to drive a truck displaying the message "Stop the Corruption. #FirePruitt" around EPA headquarters, Congress, and the EPA chief's former condo rental as he attends a private event with auto executives.
"Scott Pruitt prefers conspiring in private with polluters rather than defending his corrupt agenda in public," Lukas Ross, climate and energy campaigner at Friends of the Earth, said in a statement on Tuesday. "Whether it's handouts to the fossil fuel industry or first class luxuries for himself, Pruitt is the ultimate example of the Trump administration's corruption."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.