EPA Chief Scott Pruitt Resigns

WASHINGTON — Scott Pruitt resigned on July 6 as head of the Environmental Protection Agency following a string of controversies involving his leadership. The news was announced by President Trump on Twitter.

EPA Deputy Administrator Andrew Wheeler will take over as acting administrator effective Monday, Trump also announced on Twitter.

As Fox News noted, Pruitt resigned less than a week after The New York Times reported that the EPA's chief ethics official, Kevin Minoli, had been pushing for a series of independent investigations into several aspects of Pruitt's tenure. Those included Pruitt's rental of a Washington, D.C. condominium for $50 per night from the spouse of a prominent fossil fuel lobbyist, which was first reported in March.

Both Pruitt and the lobbyist, Steven Hart, denied he had conducted any recent business with the EPA. But, Hart was later forced to admit he had met with Pruitt at EPA headquarters last summer after his firm, Williams & Jensen, revealed he had lobbied the agency on a required federal disclosure form.

In all, the Times reported, Pruitt is facing 13 federal inquiries into his spending and management practices.