Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt bought tickets to the Jan. 1 Rose Bowl game directly from Oklahoma University, despite claims by a Democrat lawmaker that the tickets came from a public relations firm executive, according to the EPA.
In a letter dated Jan. 20, Democratic Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland claims that the CEO of a public relations firm in Oklahoma, Renzi Stone, supplied Rose Bowl tickets to Pruitt.
Cummings asked Stone for information and communications “regarding your actions in assisting EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt in obtaining highly sought-after tickets to attend the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day,” according to the letter first reported by The Washington Post Friday.
Cummings found out about the origin of the tickets from former Pruitt aide Millan Hupp, according to the letter. (RELATED: Two Top Aides To Pruitt Resign Amid Scandals)
“It seems Representative Cummings is misconstruing the facts,” EPA spokesman Jahan Wilcox told The Daily Caller News Foundation in a statement. “Renzi Stone, a friend of Administrator Pruitt and regent to the University of Oklahoma, simply connected Pruitt to the athletic department. Pruitt purchased the tickets at face value from the OU athletic department. To report otherwise, is false.”
Pruitt has faced increasing pressure to resign amid media reports of various scandals and poor public relations decisions. Republican Oklahoma Sen. Jim Inhofe said Wednesday that Pruitt may need to resign his position at the EPA. (RELATED: Jim Inhofe Says Pruitt May Need To ‘Leave That Job’ At EPA)
“He is capable of doing the job, but he needs to do the job and quit worrying about all these other things,” Inhofe said on Laura Ingraham’s radio show. “I’m sending a communication over today that we’ve had enough of these things and you need to get down and do the job we’re elected to do.”
President Donald Trump has stuck by Pruitt so far amid a barrage of negative stories and calls for Pruitt’s dismissal. The White House has expressed “concern” over Pruitt’s actions, specifically related to Pruitt asking EPA staff to assist in his wife’s job hunt, The Washington Examiner reports.
“Certainly, we have some areas of concern about these allegations, but I don’t have any personnel announcements at this point,” White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said Thursday in a press conference.
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