US President Donald Trump announced [Twitter post] Thursday the resignation of Scott Pruitt as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency [official website].
“Within the Agency Scott has done an outstanding job, and I will always be thankful to him for this,” Trump said.
Trump noted that current Deputy Adminstrator Andrew Wheeler will serve as acting administrator. “I have no doubt that Andy will continue on with our great and lasting EPA agenda. We have made tremendous progress and the future of the EPA is very bright!”
At the EPA, Pruitt has pushed an agenda centered around deregulation, including the EPA’s halting of a regulation that required mining companies [JURIST report] to show that they have enough funding for the cleanup of harmful substances prior to starting any mining operations. In May, a coalition of 17 states and the District of Columbia filed suit [JURIST report] against the EPA to defend an Obama-era rule on vehicle emissions standards.