mr. pruitt since his nomination in recent months, even conservative republicans had taken the unusual step of questioning his ethics. representative trey gowdy, of south carolina and house oversight committee started an velgs into pruitt's actions at the epa. the first such republican led inquiry into a trump cabinet member. it's almost like a joke, how bad do you have to be for the lemmings in congress to investigate you. this is how bad you have to be. you have to be scott pruitt bad. >> you have to be scott pruitt bad and clearly the number is 13. we now know what the number is. >> we have a floor. >> we have a floor. thank god, we have a floor. >> we do. >> and so here's the thing that is so amusing and amazing about all of this, nicolle, is that scott pruitt didn't care and neither did donald trump to get to 13. let's not overlook that. thank you. >> he's not getting pushed out because he was corrupt. >> exactly. >> he's not getting pushed out because there were 13. he's not getting pushed out because he was weird enough to wear tactical pants in a phone booth. he's getting pushld out

mr. pruitt did. first, he reallspent lavishly the taxpayers funds on his own -- you know, his own purposes including consistently traveling first classying in high-end hotels, eating at fancy restaurand expanding his security detail to the extent that, again, that and, you know, retaining higher-end suvs for hior trantion, a whole slew of expenses related to his own operations. on top of that, h he entered into, for example, a controversial rental arrangement for the first six months of his ten your he wife of a lobbyist, herself a lobbyist o capitol hill where he only paid $50 a night on the nights he stayed there and that reallyue raisedions especially as over time it emerged that the husband of this lobbyist who was the chairman of the law firm williams and jensen had repeatedly contacted the e.p.a. on official business, raising questions about conflict of interest. there were other expenses, edcluding the fact that mr. pruitt insta a $43,000 soundproof phone booth in hisof ce, and there were char

mr. pruitt. but mr. wheeler comes in this same agenda ofulling back obama era regular lage,orking closely with different companies. that to me may be the big story here that the pruitt agendaoes on without pruitt. >> and perhaps even moreel effect some people have said some of the regulations are the rollbacks. they face legal challenges and h been overshadowed by all of the controversy around scott uitt. you have someone who is coming in very close to the coal industry who understands the regulations and rule making very wellteill do b at carrying out the president's agenda of rolling back tse things and being more pro-business. >> i think one of the points to make aruut scottt's demise is that people have failed for very different reasons in this administration. aurex tillerson failed b of his inability to develop a relationship with the president. in scott pruitt's case that was never a problem. he hady all accounts a robust relationship with the president. the president stood bhim because of his succe

mr. pruitt could be a liability for him in the midterms. but you know, we've seen time and time again that president trump very much supports the regulatory rollbacks that mr. pruitt is doing at the epa. >> shannon, the list on "the new york times" is comprehensive. some of it seems unethical. some of it is just weird. some of it is both weird and unethical. when white house press secretary sarah huckabee sanders was asked about this, here is what she said. this was two months ago. let's listen. >> reporter: can you explain why he still has a job in the president's cabinet, and also how his behavior is in keeping with the values of draining the swamp? >> again, we're evaluating these concerns and we expect the epa administrator to answer for them. and we'll keep you posted. >> shannon, that was two months ago. "we're evaluating these concerns." where are we now? >> at the time it was not if but when pruitt would be fired and they were looking for the right moment. but somehow the storm quieted down a little bit. and pruitt was able to make

mr. pruitt. we're making the right decision to put mr.ad this department forward and execute the president's agenda. >> to harland's point real quick, i mean, scott pru it in 19 months had 15 investigations into his handling of finances, interactions -- >> what does that have to do with his accomplishments? >> he's the cabinet secretary. i mean accomplishments? do they matter more than actually respecting the office? >> neil: michael you raise a good point. but this is what is going to really be theeth d of them, already is, ron, you touched on it, too. no longer served at the pleasure of the president, embarrassing the president. anyone else would have been out of the job much earlier, if not for the things that he was doing that the president liked. but what is the lesson here? >> well, the lesson is, i mean, i liked how trump approached when dr. tom price found himself in a similar situation. it was a very short leash. he was dismissed. he resigned quickly. i would have liked the shorter leash. it opened up trump to attacks. i didn't l

mr. pruitt cultivated over time. you know, usually, the e.p.a. administrator is not one of the most influential cabinet members, but mr. pruitt was quite skillful in tms of reaching out to the president, carrying through with many of the policy items he wanted, but also just spending time with him. he wou eat frequently in the white house mess so that he could swing by the oval office criodically. miserated with president trump about staffers who leaked and the problems in the media ande russia investigation and how that was unfair. so the fact ihas tt the two, they actually hit it off when they fhst met and wen mr. trump decided he should be his e.p.a. administrator and, over time, that tie deepened, which is what really sustained him until today. >> woodruff: when all of said and done what work of his is long-lasting? what is his legacy? what portion of it may be up to be changed because it's being challenged? >> mr. pruitt as e.p.a.ad nistrator set in motion a series of policy rolebacks onyt evng including, you know, a slew of climate policies

mr pruitt has been the subject of numerorus stories which have called his conduct in office into questionrth america editor jon sopel has more. it talks about the toll that it took on his family and the vile accusations that have been levelled against him. if you go through the charge seek to make sheet, it is something. the resignation is in tone. —— the charge sheet. it says it is extremely difficult to see is serving you in this role because i counted as a blessing to be serving you in any capacity. and so it goes on in that rather, if you use to british politics, stomach churning, if you have just eaten a meal. but for scott pruitt, the list of allegations that would have kind of failed anyone else. the get draining the swamp, he was a i—man swan. only the swamp, he was a i—man swan. only the replacement is the easy bit. getting a replacement through a confirmation hearing, that is the really difficult bit. if donald trump wants to appoint another scott pruitt who is going to kind of package himself in a similar way to scott pruitt, i think that becomes immensely difficult. and you ca

mr. pruitt's was.lobbyist for a long time for bob murray, who is the head of murray energy and very strongly opposed to most of the, if not all of the policies that you outlined a few minutes ago. he spent years working for senator james inhoff, a fierce critic of climate regulations. the difference with mr. wheeler, i think, is going to be in the approach. he's really very widely respected on the hill and, you know, many people inside the agency say that they have gotten a better feeling from him even if they don't perhaps like his policies. >> this is interesting, because murray, for whom andy wheeler worked, is a coal executive. it's a coal company. scott pruitt as attorney general in oklahoma and prior to that has been very, very chummy with the energy industry. oklahoma, like texas, is a big energy-producing state. it's just kind of weird, because the epa really has as its main mission the idea that energy companies and other big industry in america, if you don't provide regulations for them, they

pruitt's role in dismantling government regulations. this evening the news 4 i-team has confirmed the inspector general of the a will continue investigating mr. prewitt's travel and use of taxpayer resources despite his resignation. pruitt's low-cost capitol hill rental apartment from a fossil ouel lobbyist and he reportedly asked an aide line up a job for his wife. critics also point to excessive spending on travel and on security and more recently a report that pruitt lobbied for president trump to fire attorney general jeff sessions and to install him. andrew wheeler, the epa's deputy chief, will become acting administrator monday, the president says. a federal watchdog group says wheeler who served as recently as last year as a lobbyist for the coal industry violates the president's executive order barring lobbyists from working in the federal government. jim? >> big developmentot today. macfarlane, scott, thank you. >>> now a story that will have you locking your car when you pump your gas. ideo from this yesterday in the district. two crooks drive up in that red carhere. one gets out and sneaks into that black mercedes and takes off wh

scott pruitt is the fifth member of president trump's cabinet to be fired or resigned since mr. trump took office. liz, back to you. >> meanwhile, the president and his fifth communication chief, former fox copresident bill shine will fill the post in march. >>> two of california's sanctuary laws will remain in place. us district judge john mendez denied the trump administration's request to immediately halt three state laws. there tended to shield immigrants who are in the country illegally. the judge did put one of those laws on hold, it is intended to protect people at their places of employment. the trump administration is expected to challenge today's ruling. governor brown had this to say -- only congress can chart the path forward, by rising above mindless partisan divisions, and working together to solve this problem. >>> a stolen police cruiser, recovered in the east bay. >> police have plans for the suspect, but what to do with the suspected accomplice found in the backseat? >> a hot, smoggy summer can trigger health trouble for some bay area kids. now, a chance to bre

mr. pruitt is accused of are egregious by washington's place, he stood out. like shah keel annea shaquille o'neil. there is a highly controversial insecticide that the obama administration was people to use less of because it causes brain damage in children. so epa stood that down. so we'll have more toxins. >> that's part of the thing for child's brain development. >> everybody eats. everybody drinks. and everybody breathes. and that's what i wish folks would focus on more, these ethics problems are outrageous. i'm glad he's gone. but his successor, as you pointed out, a coal lobbyist, very controversial company coal energy. the policies may well get worse. if that's possible. for those of us who like to breathe that's going to be a problem. >> those issues that paul described, with scott pruitt the ethics violations as opposed to policies. do they have political backing? is that a driving issue for vote? are voters aware? does this upset me? maybe this is going too far? i do care about clean water and air? >> certainly emanates the left, animates the right

mr. pruitt is accused of egregious things by washington standards. >> pruitt's extraordinary list of ethical scandals prompted a debate by historians whether he's the most of corrupt cabinet member in u.s. history. howie: was pruitt toppled by good investigative reporting? alan dershowitz said many liberals on martha's vineyard are shunning him. he calls it mccarthyism. this is "mediabuzz." this is a fox news alert out of thailand where rescue efforts are under way to free the by their coach who are trapped in a cave. reporter: the concern is the rain. it's pouring down and it creates more urgency to get the remaining 8 boys and their coach to safety. four have been brought to safety. they are getting medical attention in a hospital. all oxygen tanks set along that route were used just to rescue those boys. it will take another 10 hours to prepare crews for the next stage. it took less time to get the boys out than anticipated. they said it would take 11 hours to get the boys to safety. we are learning it took 7 hours 40 minutes. the international divers from around the world and the local d

this individual may have failings, mr pruitt. i don't know the facts. s not scott pruitt who was elected president of the united states, it was donald trump, and there was a reason he was elected president of the united states and that is that he had stated policies of pulling out of the paris climate accord, which according to statistics, would cost the united states 2.7 million jobs by 2025. so, you know, times have changed. the environment is getting better... very briefly, sorry to interrupt you, we do have the mid—term elections not very far away, just months now. will this impact on him, on the republican party, and if so, how? i have no doubt that the democratic party will attempt to use this as a scandal and to try to prove their point that there is corruption in the trump administration, but the reality is that there is, you know, these things happen. unfortunately, these things happen. unfortunately, these things happen. unfortunately, these things happen. there was corruption in the clinton administration, there was corruption in the 0bama adm

mr pruitt faces at least a dozen investigations into his spending habits and alleged misuse of officen sackur goes tojerusalem

mr pruitt faces at least a dozen investigations into his spending habits and alleged misuse of office. president trump said he had done an outstanding job. now on bbc news — hardtalk‘s stephen sackur goes tojerusalem to interview mayor nir barkat. welcome to hardtalk, with me, stephen sackur. this ancient city has arguably stirred up more passion, argument and hostility than any other. israel claims it as its undivided capital, a claim which runs counter to international law and much world opinion, but it has been boosted by the decision of donald trump to move the us embassy here. well, my guest today isjerusalem's mayor, nir barkat. can israel conclusively win the struggle forjerusalem? mayor nir barkat, welcome to hardtalk. welcome tojerusalem, steve. thank you. you're coming to the end of your second term, you've declared there will be no third term, so it's time to look back, in a way. what do you think you have achieved in your, pretty much, a decade in charge ofjerusalem? well, i was fortunate to lead jerusalem in the last decade. jerusalem is now in a very positive momentum. t

mr. pruitt is the subject of at least 13 federal investigations. >> this is not a surprise, it's really been a long time coming. >> how did an ordinary british couple become exposed to a military grade nerve agent? >> residents here are once again on edge. >> all we want to know is are you safe. >> at least 17 people killed, 31 more injured in a fireworks explosion near mexico city. >> the hazmat situation, at baltimore's johns hopkins hospital after vials of tuberculosis were broken. prepared for the meeting, trust me, we'll do just fine. >> wildfires spreading >> here in northern california the battle against wildfires begins here at cash creek where water dropping helicopters are constantly filling up. >> teen life guards were a summer staple but now with too many openings, they are being replaced with a different age group. >> you are part of a nationwide trend. >> it's great. >> golodryga: good evening, jeff glor is off tonight, i'm bianna golodryga. this is our western edition. the growing cloud of scandal cost the head of the environmental protection agency his job. scott pruitt, the

mr. pruitt was not about the money and absurdity of lotions, but about the fundamental need to protect environment. it was about the fact that oklahoma attorney general, he was penning legislation and letters to the federal government written by the coal lobby and energy lobby. so, in many ways, the original scandal that should have been enough in any normal climate is now front and center even more so with andy wheeler. >> kristin, you strike me as an avid news consumer. what do you think, how front in mind is something like the epa to you? >> this is fundamental. a lot of issues that are hugely important right now. there are parents being separated from their children, and as a mother, it is hard to think, nothing more urgent than that. at the same time the environment is a nonpartisan issue. this has to do with the future of humanity and the future of the earth and having a safe place for our kids to grow up and for them to have families and so on. this is a huge issue for me. >> dan, that strikes me, as it will be interesting to see the degree of which the pruitt, the lotion, and the instanty

mr pruitt faces at least a dozen investigations into his spending habits and alleged misuse of office. president trump said he had done an outstanding job. in the next few hours, the us is set to start imposing tariffs of 25% on $34 billion worth of chinese exports, including industrial machinery and medical devices. china has hit back with tariffs on american agricultural produce. rescuers in thailand are stepping up their efforts to get the trapped boys out of a flooded cave before the weather closes in. thousands of litres of water have been pumped out of the caves, bringing the flood levels down. but the window of opportunity for any rescue is not expected to last long, as more rain is expected on sunday. now on bbc news, thursday in parliament. hello and welcome to thursday in parliament. on this programme: the home secretary tells mps the nerve agent that's poisoned a couple in wiltshire could be the same as that used against an ex russian spy and his daughter in march. it could very well be the exact same nerve agent that was used in march because it would not have had time to

mr. pruitt is out of a job but not necessarily out of the woods.vestigation into whether he violated ethic laws will continue. >>> the president is in montana campaigning for the republican candidate for senate there. donald trump won montana's three electoral votes, but they have a democratic senator who may be a key in the battle for the next supreme court justice. >> i think what the american people need to be concerned about is that we're talking about changing the balance on the supreme court that's requesting to affer rights. >> president trump says he will announce his choice on monday night night. >>> there are new precautions in england after a couple was exposed to novichok. the same toxin that almost killed a former russian spy and his daughter in march. police have blocked out the areas that that couple visited. >> now the race to save that soccer team trapped in a cave. the 12 boys and coach have been trapped in the flooded cave nearly two weeks. they are getting a crash course on scuba diving, but the risk could be deadly. it is six h

mr. pruitt to tell him the time had come. the president also told reporters he's narrowed his supreme court picks to about five people. a source familiar with the selection process told nbc news it's down to three, these three. at tonight's rally in grape falls the president was teasing up his big reveal. >> as you know there's now a vacancy on the supreme court. and if you turn in monday at 9:00, i think you're going to be extremely happy. right? and they're all great. they're all great. >> now, from there you can say things went off the rails. among other things the president went after maxine waters, elizabeth warren and the nfl. >> we turn away thousands of people. they never say i'm a great speaker. i've broken more than john elten records. and by the way, i don't have a musical instrument. i don't have a guitar or organ. no organ. elton has an organ. yes, she's a low iq individual. pocahontas, they always want me to apologize for saying it and i here by -- oh, yeah, i want to apologize. pocahontas, i apologize to you. i

mr. pruitt was clearly in bed with industry. his replacement is of the same ilk. this is an administration that has shown itself to be anything but about draining the swamp. i mean the president ran on draining the swamp, but it seems more as if the swamp monsters have taken control of the government. and it is that way whether we look at the epa, whether we look at the president's own enrichment of him and his family during this administration, whether we look at the recent charges against the commerce secretary wilbur ross for insider trading. whether we see the obvious corruption of mr. manafort in running the campaign. i mean this is a bunch of grifters who have taken over the united states government and the standard that has been established over many generations ever administrations has been violated time and time again. there are no ethics in this strairks a administration and that is what the american people have to come to terms with. >> thank you so much for your perspective. >>> in the united kingdom, british police are ramping up their search for the

mr. pruitt and he smiled and, you know, i don't know if he thought, you know, that maybe i was like a superf his who spotted him across the restaurant. but he gave me a friendly hello there. you know, and then of course i suggested that he resign. and then he stopped smiling. you know. and then he looked kind of annoyed, i'll say, at that point. and then as i started listing off some of his scandals and named some of the specifics there, then his demeanor really changed. he stiffened up and looked angrier and more uncomfortable. >> did he at any point say anything to you about the comments you were making to him? >> no, he didn't. he stayed silent through the entire thing. he thad no defense, no explanation, no apology, no confirmation of his impending resignation. >> so he seemed to be pretty confident that he's going to be resigning, maybe you know something we don't know. maybe he told you something. let me play you this sound byte from president trump talking about scott pruitt last month. >> okay. >> scott pruitt is doing a great job within the walls of the epa, we're setting records o

mr. pruitt's former deputy chief of staff who said he let her go because she was questioning the practice of retroactively deleting messages from the calendar. lay out some of the other messages, details of your reporting, and anything you might know about why, after all of these investigations, he's gone now. >> sure. i mean, what was happening there apparently, according to kevin shemlusky and another aide who was a scheduler who had worked on the hil and koch industries and became an aide to pruett, they were making modifications in the schedule to remove things that pruitt did not want public. modifying a federal record after something has been put on paper is both a civil and potentially a criminal offense. i think that reflects part of the reason that scott pruitt is now departed the building or departing today, is that we shifted from just, you know, questions about his elaborate spending and security, first class flights, to things that were potentially real ethics violations and potentially even criminal violations. so it's getting more serious. i think at the white house, the ch

mr. pruitt's first year in office, plus a few more months, is that he repeatedly enlisted her in searching for a job for his wife, marlin. she is a nurse by training who spent the last two decades at home raising their children. he approached samantha dravis, asking her to reach out and find a job. not only was a job in washington, but earned north of $200,000 a year. >> what is the epa saying about all this? what's the response been from the agency? >> their response is that the administrator has not discussed with samantha dravis or his current chief of staff, ryan jackson, what they told committee staffers. they did not comment on the substance of what they shared with the house overnight committee. >> let me bring in aaron and anita here. the article talks to john fox, the acting director of ethics. if we were to talk about any other employee, it would be that person's supervisor that would take dismissal from service. this falls on the shoulders of the president and he seems to do nothing but go out of his way to praise scott pruitt. pruitt's policies are keeping him afloat among othe

mr. scott pruitt. host:, as far as hypocrisy what would you list chief among them?aller: in the position he held of the epa, you should strike a balance between the industries, coal, for individuals who want to save forests from being chopped down. host: are you saying he did not achieve that balance? why? let personalse he greed get in the way of what he was supposed to do, of his job. ont: massachusetts, janet, democrat line. caller: hi. i got a request and a comment. the comment on scott pruitt. , thatk we can all thank woman with her baby on her hip , stood there and confronted him, you could see it in his face, he was resigning then. that is my comment. host: you think it is the public pressure that forced him to make the decision? caller: yes. he finally found his heart. she found it for him. anyway. she talked about how her baby will be affected by the pollution. that he is creating. my request, would you please limit the time you put on the air, donald trump's diatribes. tvave to go running to the to shut it off or turn down the volume. i cannot stand it. he

mr. pruitt. and, you know, he was -- smiled and seemed, you know, friendly enough.rst i think maybe he thought i was a super fan of some sort or something. and then, you know, of course, i suggested that he resign and the smile faded pretty quickly. he seemed annoyed at that point. and then when i started listing off some of his scandals, that's when his demeanor changed and he definitely stiffened up and looked angry, defensive, uncomfortable, as he should. it is embarrassing what he is doing. >> did he respond after the fact? >> he did not. i know that his office put out a statement he said thank you or something. and, you know, i may have missed that. we may have stopped filming and walking back and missed that. i think it's telling that what they want to focus on is oh, you know, he said thank you. that's not really the issue here. my 2-year-old can say thank you. the issue that we would like to address is what he's doing to our environment and the way he's spending taxpayer dollars on personal expenses, the way he's getting discounted rent from energy lobbyists

mr. pruitt is the subject of at least 13 -- 13 federal investigations and a government watch dog agency concluded the law with his

mr. pruitt lied the reason that mr. wheeler lies. and the reason that these corporations are pushing for no pollution controls is they want to make more money, because to actually operate in a clean fashion would mean reducing their pollution. either they have old technologies that can't compete if they reduce their pollution or they don't want to protect, it is not important for them to protect the health of americans. >> when you think about -- >> it's very simple about mouloff. >> money is great. you think of the people like koch brothers that work so hard, do not burn my industry. if i want to burn fossil fushlgs i'll do it. if 45 -- fuels, i'll do it. in private conversation, do you think they have so much money they can protect their own family against dirty water and be fouled air? >> joy, everybody knows the climate is changing. everybody knows that pollution makes people sick or kills them. so this is a question of them believing that i are more important than the american people. that their income is more important than the

mr. pruitt may be gone from the agency, but congress should be doing considerable oversight to ensure that a culture of transparency and accountability is restored at the e.p.a. we should also be doing our best to ensure that every agency we fund is not abusing taxpayer dollars. so i'm deeply disappointed that my republican colleagues voted down multiple amendments in our committee markup that would have held up our responsibility for oversight and adequately funded ongoing investigations. they also denied several more democratic oversight amendments a chance to come to this floor for debate today. madam chair, this bill fails the american people, it cuts environmental protections, it removes safeguards for our air and water, and endangered species, and it allows rampant corruption in the executive branch to go unchecked. i know we can do better than this and it is mipe we will do better after -- hope we will do better after conference. i continue to work with the chair -- the chair: the gentlelady's time has expired. mrs. lowey: additional 15 seconds. ms. mccollum: thank you, madam chair,

pruitt. unfortunately, mr. president, this does not appear to be confined to one agency or one rogue administrator. we have seen disturbing reports of trump employees purging at the state department. this reports should concern all of us, republicans and democrats alike who believe in good and honest government by and for the people. now, my hope is that we can stop this ongoing onslaught on our federal workforce. we will have differences, but, again, as someone who spent longer in business than i have in government, if you want your workforce to do well, you need to reward those who do well. challenge and penalize those who don't perform, but not take the broad brush strokes that unfortunately has come out of this administration frankly undermining both the performance and morale of federal employees who serve day in and day out without a lot of recognition. before i close, i want to make another comment on this subject because one part of our federal government, in particular, where partisanship not only func

mr. pruitt's dangerous anti-environment agenda will continue to wreak havoc, this time with the weight of our nation's courts behind it and for a long, long time. put simply, brett kavanaugh will attempt to finish in many respects what scott pruitt started. i take seriously the senate's constitutional role of providing advice and consent on a presidential nominee to the supreme court. as governor of delaware, i nominated dozens, scores of men and women to serve on our courts, supreme court, court of chancellor, superior court, major courts not just for delaware but actually for the country. i always felt that the delaware legislature should carefully consider my nominees. give them a hearing, meet with them, and in the end vote them up or down. i felt like we should have done that with merrick tkpwar -- garland almost two yearsing a. we treated him shamefully. we didn't, we didn't, but some in this body did. i will afford brett kavanaugh the opportunity my republican colleagues, at least most of them refused for merrick garland, chief judge of the d.c. circuit court of appeals, highly reg

he's saying his goodbyes to establishment andrew wheeler does share pruitt mr. griffin, you've been dealing the epitome of an outsider. his last job representing a coal company in the u.s. now he's at the head of the agency regulating his former clients. if the environmental agency thipgs getting rid of paul manafort at the epa, they said he should think again. >> president trump came in trying to put a wrecking ball to them, but. >> andrew wheeler, who up until today was the world number 2. it is a prime example of ma. he started his career in the epa in the early '90s and then went to capitol hill and lobbied for the types of companies that often fight epa pollution laws. now he's back in government in a position to regulate the very businesses that up until last year paid him. >> the fundamental conflict of interest that's at stake here is that andrew wheeler could use his position at the epa to benefit a former client. >> one of wheeler's former clients, energy fuels incorporated, is trying to get contracts from the epa right now, lobbying, according to its

pruitt is the target of ethics investigations into alleged misuse of government resources. mr. trump says he did not ask for pruitt's resignation and called him a terrific guy. mola lenghi reports. >> well, thank you, montana. what a place. >> reporter: president trump held a 70-minute campaign-style rally in montana thursday, but didn't once mention the resignation of his epa chief scott pruitt. he said there was no final straw. he said the resignation was pruitt's own decision despite charges. pruitt was facing a house oversight committee investigation, five inspector general audits, two reviews, and two county ability. pruitt wrote in his resignation letter he was leaving in part because of the unrelenting attacks personally on my family. it's taken an unsizeable toll on all of us. >> thank you very much, scott. epa is doing really, really welling. >> for months president trump had offs his support. jim inhall from his hometown spoke. there was also fierce criticism of pruitt from environmental groups and politicians on both sides of the aisle. >> we've seen scandal after sca

again, scott pruitt is out and mr. wheeler is now in. we will get information. ts back up on the north lawn for us. more on this. and, remember, the epa chief scott pruitt has an embroiled in controversies about his expenses. theed a mrs. managers said we went past that and then there was the condominium in d.c., he rented this konld minimum, $50 a night, one room, and apparently that was also controversial because it might have been against the rules. the administration overlooked that. he's been under great pressure from even conservatives saying that the epa chief scott pruitt needs to resign. and now he apparently has resigned. we just did a story couple of days ago on a woman who walked up to him in a restaurant and scott pruitt was sitting there, eating. the woman walked up and videotaped it and she posted on it social media, literally reading pruitt the riot act about the list of controversy he was embroiled in and ended by saying you should resign. scott pruitt looked her directly in the eye, did not say a word, but then as she walked back to her table, s

mr. trump silent about scott pruitt. hison scandal-plagued epa administrator resigning today amid a flood of federal ethics inquiries. days after a school teacherim confront in a d.c. restaurant. >> i would urge you to resiou before scandals push you out. >> reporter: the scandals include allegations of excessivg spen including $3.5 million on 24/75 security. retaliation against epa employees who questioned his spending. and cozy relationships with trlobbyists for inds he was tasked to regulate. in his resignation letter he praised the president. i believe you're serving as president today becausese of gos providence. for , mr. trump defended pruitt. touting his aggressive rollback of obama era environmental regulations. ultimately accepting the resignation because the president said want to be a distraction. top democrat chuck schumer oo tweeting, you long enough. still a very long way to go to fully drain the swamp. >> and in addition to that, we woke up this morning and the u.s. and china in the middle of a billion do

mr. huffman: finally, finally, scott pruitt is gone. after months of scandal, 19 separate investigations, countless ethical failures, abuses of official office at taxpayer expense, finally this corrupt swamp creature that's been heading our environmental protection agency announced his resignation last week. as welcomed as this news is, for many of us let as be clear, scott pruitt was far from the only creature in the toxic trump swamp. another great example is our secretary of commerce, wilbur ross who provetted from short sales in a russian linked navigation company. and he made those short sales only after learning that journalists with "the new york times" were about to expose his conflicts of interest. apparently while serving as our commerce secretary, ross was also partial owner of a chinese company and a cypriot bank that's part of special counsel robert mueller's investigations. these are scandals that in any other previous time would bring down a cabinet secretary, but in this swamp climate of the trump administration, it's ju

mr. trump silent about scott pruitt. the epa administrator resigning, effective today. >> inquiries in extravagant spending that cost taxpayers millions. >> fancy lotions and maxwell fun. >> urge you to resign. >> could his replacement be worse for the environment? >> this little girl. she is 8. she hasn't seen her mom in 55 days. >> this is an unprecedented situation. >> what about the other 3,000? let's go get those kids back with their parents. >> the agency is conducting dna tests by taking a cheek swab of every child. >> we are concerned this information could be used to track the families and children for the rest of their lives. >> translator: we have to suffer a lot of pain, she says. it's difficult not knowing how they are. >>> the trade wars first shots are officially fired. at midnight, the president's tariffs on chinese goods went into effect and china's retaliation went into effect thereafter according to the chinese government. this is making life difficult for everyone involved in trade. a boat sped up on

pruitt was confronted at a d.c. restaurant by a woman pushing him to step down. the president tweeted andrew wheeler will step in administrator. >> mr. trump a tweet. have we heard anything directly from pruitt were his reasons for resigning? there was controversy with many of his moves. >> we haven't heard anything publicly from pruitt just yet. we did obtain his resignation letter. in it he wrote it was a blessing to serve under president trump, but he also noted what he called unrelenting attacks on him and his family, saying that they took a sizable toll on them, but he made no mention of any of those scandals. larry and kristen? >> arlette saenz reporting, live in washington, thank you. >>> a judge today rejected a request by the trump administration to block two california laws that protect illegal immigrants. the judge refused to block a law requiring the state to review detention facilities where immigrants are held, and another that prevents local law enforcemenmformation on jail in. but he did put a third law on emises without a warrant. >> a tent camp protest outside the u.s. immigration building in san francisco is now i

. >> reporter: pruitt's resignation had people speculating if he was fired by the president. mr. e record state -- straight saying he resigned live his own accord. -- resigned of his own accord. scott pruitt announced his sudden resignation thursday, ending a tumultuous chapter in his life. according to his resignation letter, he wrote, the unrelenting attacks on me personally, my family, are unprecedented and it taken a sizable toll on all of us. >> clean water is under attack. what are we going to do? >> reporter: just last week pruitt was met with a protest led by green action in san francisco. >> he was working day and night to got the evening -- getting the even limited regulations which are not enough. basically he was serving up her health and >> reporter: pruitt came under attack once again by her woman -- by a woman and son who saw him dining at a descent --

pruitt's role in dismantling government regulations. this evening the news 4 i-team has confirmed the inspector general of the a will continue investigating mr resources despite his resignation. pruitt's low-cost capitol hill rental apartment from a fossil ouel lobbyist and he reportedly asked an aide line up a job for his wife. critics also point to excessive spending on travel and on security and more recently a report that pruitt lobbied for president trump to fire attorney general jeff sessions and to install him. andrew wheeler, the epa's deputy chief, will become acting administrator monday, the president says. a federal watchdog group says wheeler who served as recently as last year as a lobbyist for the coal inst

mr. president. >> reporter: a reversal of fortune. scott pruitt met. there was an outcry in alaska.n, tribes, even bill walker are opposed to the mine. majkowski said she would never trade salmon for gold. the latest plan includes a 100-mile natural gas pipeline. it would run past that volcano into a port system on this beach. imagine semitrucks instead of bears and foxes and a 35-mile road through some of the most pristine wilderness in the state. since scott pruitt resigned amid scandal, andrew wheeler, a former lobbyist at one of pebble mine's law firms. he declined our request for an interview. >> this is in the roosevelt room and that's gore and clinton. >> reporter: but the ceo of pebble was happy to talk. >> nobody can guarantee there won't be an accident. we've done a hell of a lot to minimize the possibility of there being an accident on the site. >> reporter: pebble would sit in a wetteland prone to earthquakes. this one sent a lake full of acidic waste downstream. the mine site is so far from bristol bay, that's a risk he can live with. >> if there is an accident it will

mr. president -- >> reporter: embattled epa secretary, scott pruitt, who is currently facing 14 federal investigations, directly appealed to president trump this spring to fire attorney general jeff sessions and let him lead the department of justice instead. the proposal coming at a time when the president's frustration with sessions over his recusal from the russia investigation was at an all-time high. sources telling cnn that pruitt proposed making him the acting head of the doj for 210 days under the vacancies reform act. his plan after that, return to oklahoma and run for office. the president's aides quickly shooting down the idea, as his ethics scandals were piling up. trump standing by pruitt, just last month. >> i'm not happy about certain things, but he's done a fantastic job running the epa, which is very overriding. but i am not happy about it. >> reporter: this amid new allegations about pruitt's behavior. a cnn report refeeli ingreveali and his aides kept secret calendars and schedules to hide contentious meetings. a aide testifying before the house oversight committee that pruitt asked

mr. president. >> reporter: a rever ssaal of fortunes. scott pruittith pebble and then settled the lawsuits. whether cnn revealed that, there was an outcry in alaska. most fishermen, tribes, even the governor, are opposed to the mine and senator lisa murkowski said she would never trade salmon for gold. but northern dynasty refuses to give up. the latest plan includes a 100 mile natural gas pipeline that would run past that active volcano into a massive port system on the beach. imagine ships and semi-trucks, instead of bears and foxes. then a 35-mile road through some of the most pristine wilderness in the state. since scott pruitt resigned, the new man is andrew wheeler, a former lobbyist at one of pebble mine's law firms. he declined our request for an interview. >> this is in the roosevelt room. that's gore and clinton. >> reporter: the ceo of pebble was happy to talk. >> nobody can guarantee there won't be an accident. but we have done a hell of a lot to minimize the possibility of there being an accident on this site. >> reporter: pebble mine wo