Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt may have no choice but to resign, said Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., one of Pruitt’s staunchest allies, in a Wednesday interview on “The Laura Ingraham Show.”
“I see these things, they upset me just as much as they upset you, and I think something needs to happen to change that,” the Republican senator said. “One of the alternatives would be for him to leave that job.”
Inhofe’s statement follows Democrats’ request to the Justice Department to investigate whether Pruitt is guilty of criminal charges. They argue that reports of Pruitt’s use of EPA employees for his own personal enrichment constitute a criminal offense.
Pruitt used EPA senior aides and staff to do everything from personal errands, to setting up meetings to buy a Chick-fil-A franchise, to finding his wife a job by talking to Republican donors. Pruitt, also, has used public funds for lavish travel and vacation expenses.
The Republican senator said Pruitt’s actions have forced him into a position where there may be no other choice but for Pruitt to resign.
“He is capable of doing the job, but he has to do the job and quit worrying about these other things because every day something new comes out,” Inhofe said on Ingraham’s radio show. “So I’ve taken the position that if that doesn’t stop, I’m going to be forced to be in a position where I’m going to say, well, Scott, you’re not doing your job.”
Inhofe said he is putting together a letter he will send to Pruitt listing his concerns.
Ingraham, a prominent supporter of President Trump, said Wednesday that Pruitt should be ousted, following another report that he used government resources for personal gain.
“PRUITT BAD JUDGMENT HURTING [Trump], GOTTA GO,” Ingraham said Wednesday on Twitter.
