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Increasingly, the most toxic thing at the Environmental Protection Agency is its administrator, Scott Pruitt, who is under scrutiny for his excessive travel, unethical behavior, and usually large expenditures.
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Now the Wall Street Journal is reporting that Chief of Staff John Kelly has told President Trump that Pruitt must be the next to be fired.
5/ John Kelly urged Trump to remove Scott Pruitt last weekhttps://t.co/k1Ex3eiXTe
— WTF Just Happened (@WTFJHT) April 6, 2018
However, Trump continues to defend Pruitt,
Trump, reports the Wall St. Journal, “values Pruitt’s deregulatory policies and commitment to his agenda.”
There are even reports that instead of firing him, Trump might promote Pruitt to a more high profile position – possibly Attorney General – while Kelly is the one that appears to be in so much hot water that he is getting the cold shoulder from the president.
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Do you believe that the Fake News Media is pushing hard on a story that I am going to replace A.G. Jeff Sessions with EPA Chief Scott Pruitt, who is doing a great job but is TOTALLY under siege? Do people really believe this stuff? So much of the media is dishonest and corrupt!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 6, 2018
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Meanwhile, CNBC has a story with the headline: “‘Tired of being told no,’ Trump freezes out the chief of staff John Kelly.”
“Kelly,’ writes CNBC, “once empowered to bring order to a turbulent West Wing, has receded from view, his clout diminished, his word less-trusted by staff and his guidiance less tolerated by an increasingly go-it-alone president.”
“Those close to the president,” adds CNBC, “say that Trump has increasingly expressed fatigue at Kelly’s attempts to shackle him and that while Trump is not ready to fire Kelly, he has begun gradually freezing out his top aide.”
If there is any lesson from Trump’s recent firings of his Secretary of State, National Security advisor, Veteran Affairs chief, and others, it is that Trump values loyalty and adherence to his will as more important than competence, experience or knowledge.
So Pruitt, at least until the wind blows another way, seems to have his job, while Kelly increasingly looks like a dead man walking, and waiting for the inevitable end of his run in the West Wing.
NEW: President Trump called Administrator Pruitt last night and said "Keep your head up, keep fighting. We have your back," per administration official.
COS Kelly called Pruitt this morning and reiterated POTUS' message.
— Jacqueline Alemany (@JaxAlemany) April 3, 2018
If all this seems like the madness of an authoritarian leader run amock, that is because it is exactly that, which may be good news for Trump’s enemies but in the short term continues to be very bad news for the American people.
