CNN airs scrolling list of Pruitt’s scandals after he announces resignation

Greg Nash

CNN aired a scrolling list of the scandals surrounding EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt on Thursday minutes after he announced his resignation.

Anchor Brooke Baldwin and a CNN reporter were discussing Pruitt’s resignation, announced Thursday afternoon in a tweet from President Trump, when the network aired the graphic showing dozens of negative headlines about the EPA chief.

“I think the important thing you see here is continued support from Donald Trump, which is what we have seen through … it’s now 14 different investigations we’re talking about,” CNN reporter Sara Ganim said on air. “All dealing with allegations of ethical misconduct while EPA administrator.”

“It seemed that not a week, not a day would go by without another scandal, another allegation. You’re seeing the list here,” Ganim said as the list scrolled on-screen.

“This is the scroll of all of his problems,” Baldwin said.

A similar, shorter graphic was aired on MSNBC, which characterized a list of more than a dozen of Pruitt’s scandals as a “partial” list.

Pruitt was hammered with negative stories surrounding his apparent use of EPA staff and resources for personal gain, and he was facing 14 investigations into ethical misconduct when he announced his resignation on Thursday.

Trump remained steadfast in his support for the former Oklahoma attorney general, who oversaw the rollback of many Obama-era environmental and climate regulations during his tenure at the agency.

“I have accepted the resignation of Scott Pruitt as the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. Within the Agency Scott has done an outstanding job, and I will always be thankful to him for this,” Trump tweeted Thursday afternoon.

Pruitt’s deputy, Andrew Wheeler, would assume the duties of acting EPA administrator on Monday, Trump said.

Tags CNN Donald Trump Environmental Protection Agency EPA Pruitt scandals Scott Pruitt Trump administration

Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.