“I hope he’s going to be great,” Trump told reporters, declining to reiterate publicly his private praise for Pruitt’s work. Those officials said the praise referred to Pruitt’s work in loosening environmental regulations and his success at getting under the skin of environmental groups. All of the officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss private conversations publicly. That tendency, and Trump’s tepid words Tuesday, suggested that Pruitt’s future at EPA is not assured despite the president’s apparently high regard for him over the past year. An agency ethics official at the EPA has insisted that Pruitt’s lease didn’t violate federal ethics rules.

Source: National Post April 03, 2018 14:12 UTC