
Scott Pruitt (9 May 1968-) was the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency from 17 February 2017 to 6 July 2018, succeeding Gina McCarthy and preceding Andrew R. Wheeler. Pruitt had previously served as Attorney General of Oklahoma (R) from 10 January 2011 to 17 February 2017, succeeding Drew Edmondson and preceding Michael J. Hunter, and he was known for his opposition to the EPA before becoming its administrator.
Biography[]
Scott Pruitt was born on 9 May 1968 in Danville, Kentucky, and he attended the University of Oklahoma, passing the bar examination in 1993. From 1998 to 2006, Pruitt served as a state senator from Tulsa and Wagoner counties as a US Republican Party politician, and he failed in gubernatorial and lieutenant-gubernatorial bids. In 2010, however, he was elected the State Attorney-General, and he fought against the Environmental Protection Agency, claiming that natural gas pollution was a lie. On 7 December 2016, Donald Trump nominated him to be his new EPA secretary due to his opposition to eco-friendly policies. On 17 February 2017, he was confirmed as EPA administrator, and he fired scientists from the Board of Scientific Counselors to replace them with industry representatives.
Pruitt was a climate change denier and an opponent of the EPA from the start, and his career was tainted even further by several corruption scandals. He made frequent use of first class travel as well as frequent charter and military flights, and he gave high raises to his aides to prevent them from having to sign conflicts of interest pledges. By June 2018, many conservatives suggested that Pruitt should resign, and he announced his resignation on 5 July.