Things are not going well for EPA administrator Scott Pruitt. Most recently, he was caught using a loophole to give raises to two aides, but he’s come under a massive amount of scrutiny for bunking on the cheap) in a D.C. townhouse owned by an energy lobbyist whose client’s pipeline project was mysteriously approved by Pruitt’s EPA. It’s gotten bad enough that Pruitt might not be long for his job, per CNN’s Jim Acosta.
Adding another potential nail in his professional coffin, the Daily Beast reports that the lobbyist in question contributed to Pruitt’s run for attorney general in Oklahoma. Steven Hart, along with his wife Vicki, not only donated to the 2010 cause but also hosted a fundraiser:
The Harts’ first apparent contribution to Pruitt was a $500 donation in October of 2010, about two weeks before Pruitt was first elected attorney general. They donated $1,000 the following year, and $250 the year after. When Pruitt ran for reelection in 2014, Steven Hart footed the bill for a fundraising reception benefitting his campaign. After he was reelected, Pruitt set up a federal political committee that made contributions to allied Republicans. Hart donated to that group in 2015.
Other people associated with Steven Hart’s firm were also found to have donated to several of Pruitt’s campaigns, as further detailed by the Daily Beast here. So far, President Trump appears to be standing behind Pruitt, who shares his same deregulatory stance, but that may not last long.
(Via The Daily Beast & CNN)