A former EPA official who was allegedly pushed out of his job for opposing Administrator Scott Pruitt said Monday that the agency’s chief lied to lawmakers about the incident.
Kevin Chmielewski, Pruitt’s former deputy chief of staff, claimed in an ABC interview that he was “100 percent” forced out of the agency after questioning Pruitt’s first-class travel. Pruitt told lawmakers during congressional hearings in April that he never engaged in such retaliatory efforts.
Chmielewski said chief of staff Ryan Jackson threatened to fire him. “Hey, Administrator Pruitt either wants me to fire you or put you in an office so that he doesn’t have to see you again,” he said Jackson told him during an-impromptu meeting in the chief of staff’s office.
Jackson and others in Pruitt’s circle were stuck in a tough position, Chmielewski added. They didn’t want to butt up against the agency chief.
“They didn’t wanna touch it with a ten-foot pole. Understandably. I mean, at this point I’m going up against a cabinet secretary. Who wants to do that? I sure didn’t want to, and still don’t want to. But that’s apparently where I’m at now,” he said to ABC News.
Pruitt faced far-ranging questions about his alleged ethical shortcomings during one April 27 hearing.
Democrats grilled him for allegedly paying $6,100 for a room in a condo owned by Vicki Hart, who is married to J. Steven Hart, an energy lobbyist who represents clients in industries regulated by the EPA. Payments to Hart came only on dates when the EPA administrator stayed in the room.
Lawmakers also teed-off on Pruitt’s flight expenses. Reports from The Washington Post, Politico, and others in February show taxpayers funded at least $90,000 for Pruitt and his top aides to fly in June, which included first-class seats and a ride on a military jet. The EPA maintains the flight upgrades were required due to an uptick in security threats Pruitt has faced during his first year in office.
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