POOL
Joint Base Andrews, Maryland - 5 April 2018
1. Pan, President Donald Trump walking up steps of Air Force One, replying to question from reporter that he has confidence in EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Washington - 4 April 2018
2. Wide, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders at podium
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Sarah Huckabee Sanders, White House Press Secretary:
"The president not. We're reviewing the situation. We have had the chance to have a deeper dive on it. We'll let you know the outcomes of that but we're currently reviewing that here at the White House. (Reporter: Does the president have confidence in the EPA Administrator at this point?) The president thinks that he's doing a good job, particularly on the deregulation front, but again we take this seriously and we're looking into it. We'll let you know when we finish."
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Washington - 3 April 2018
4. Various, house where Pruitt rented room
5. Wide, Scott Pruitt being introduced
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Scott Pruitt, EPA Administrator:
" We will get this right going forward this year. But it is very right for us to be here to recognize that what was done in 2011-12, as we evaluate it now, is not appropriate going forward. And we're going to get it right as we address it this year. So this is another step. This is another step in the president's regulatory agenda, deregulatory agenda, regulatory certainty as Peter indicated a billion dollars in savings with respect to over 22 significant regulatory actions that we've been involved in here at the agency. This president has shown tremendous courage to say to the American people that America is going to be put first. And I think this midterm evaluation, the auto sector, the importance of auto manufacturing to this country, the president again is saying America is going to be put first and we have nothing to be apologetic about."
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Washington - 4 March 2015
7. Crowd gathered in front of U.S. Supreme Court
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Scott Pruitt, Oklahoma Attorney General:
"The state of Oklahoma, like 36 other states across the country, had a very clear choice to make and made a decision here not to set up a state health care exchange."
POOL
Washington - 18 January 2017
++CUTAWAYS FROM SOURCE++
9. Wide of briefing
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Scott Pruitt, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Nominee:
"First we must reject as a nation the false paradigm that if you're pro-energy you're anti-environment and if you're pro-environment you're anti-energy. I utterly reject that narrative, in this nation we can grow our economy, harvest the resources that God has blessed us with while also being good stewards of the air, land and water by which we've been favored, it is not an either-or-proposition."
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Washington, D.C. - 17 February 2017
11. Wide of Scott Pruitt being sworn in as EPA chief by Justice Samuel Alito
POOL
Oxon Hill, Maryland - 25 February 2017
12. SOUNDBITE (English) Scott Pruitt, EPA Administrator:
"We're going to restore power back to the people. We're going to recognize that regulatory uncertainty, and the regulatory state needs to be reined in. We're going to make sure the states are recognized with the authority that they have. We're going do the work that's important to advance freedom and liberty for the future."
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Washington, D.C. - 2 June 2017
13. Wide, White House press secretary Sean Spicer and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator Scott Pruitt walk into daily briefing
14. SOUNDBITE (English) Scott Pruitt, EPA Administrator:
"The president made a very courageous decision yesterday on behalf of America. He put America's interests first, with respect to environmental agreements and international discussions. I really appreciate his fortitude, I really appreciate his leadership in this matter. The discussion over the last several weeks has been one of a thoughtful deliberation. He heard many voices, voices across a wide spectrum of vantage points, and the president made a very informed, and I think thoughtful and important decision for the country's benefit."
15. Cutaway, Pruitt speaking
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Washington - 28 June 2017
16. SOUNDBITE (English) Donald Trump, US President:
"Scott Pruitt has done an amazing job, an incredible job, in a very short period of time, and most people love him. There are a couple that don't but that's OK, right? (Laughter.)"
ASSOCIATED PRESS
East Chicago, Indiana - 19 April 2017
17. Wide of the West Calumet Housing Complex in East Chicago, Indiana.
18. Various, EPA sign (don't play in the grass)
19. SOUNDBITE (English), Scott Pruitt, EPA Administrator:
"Please know that it's the EPA's objective, my objective as the administrator of the EPA to come in and make sure that people's health is protected here in East Chicago, and that they can have confidence that their land, their health is going to be secure for the long term. We're committed to doing that, doing it in a very efficient, effective way, so that we can get back and see progress in this community. Thank you for the time. And governor, thank you again for bringing this community together."
20. Community rally on the grounds of the West Calumet Housing Complex
President Donald Trump said Thursday he still had faith in the embattled chief of the Environmental Protection Agency, Scott Pruitt.
As he was about to board Air Force One en route to an event in West Virginia, Trump replied, "I do," to a reporter question if he still had confidence in Pruitt.
Trump has publicly expressed support for other administration officials who were fired or resigned right up until sending tweets announcing their departure.
Pruitt is at the center of a swirl of ethics questions after it was revealed that he lived in a bargain-priced Capitol Hill condo with ties to a fossil fuels lobbyist.
In addition to his housing situation, Pruitt is also denying he knew about big raises given to two of his closest aides,
White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Wednesday Trump was not OK with recent public revelations involving Pruitt.
"We're reviewing the situation. When we have had the chance to have a deeper dive on it we'll let you know the outcomes of that," she added. "But we're currently reviewing that here at the White House."
The remarks from Sanders were a departure from the enthusiastic support Pruitt has previously received from Trump, who has touted his environmental chief's relentless efforts to reverse, scrap or rewrite pollution limits opposed by industry
On Tuesday, the administration had put out word that the president had Pruitt's back. By Wednesday, White House officials were describing his situation as unsustainable.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations, they said the EPA administrator was given a green light to sit down for an interview with Fox News Channel, adding that if he failed to clear the ethical cloud his job would be in serious doubt.
More than two dozen members of Congress, including two Republicans, called this week for Pruitt to resign or for Trump to fire him.
The questions surrounding the raises are the latest ethical issues dogging Pruitt, who has been under increasing scrutiny for outsized spending that includes overseas trips, his use of first-class air travel and unusual security precautions.
