Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt was approached by a mother and her 2-year-old-son while dining out, making him the latest Trump administration official to be confronted in public.
The woman, identified as Kristin Mink, 33, walked up to Pruitt while he was at a Washington, D.C. restaurant.
“This is my son, he loves animals, he loves clean air, he loves clean water,” she said. “So I would urge you to resign before your scandals push you out."
Pruitt faces a barrage of ethics complaints and federal inquiries.
The EPA's inspector general, the Government Accountability Office and the White House are investigating numerous allegations concerning Pruitt's spending on first-class travel and security, his dealings with subordinates and with lobbyists, and other matters.
A senior counsel for the EPA resigned last month just days after appearing before a panel of House oversight committee investigating allegations of mismanagement and spending at the EPA.
Pruitt has also been criticized in connection with the rental of a Capitol Hill condo tied to a prominent oil and gas lobbyist, and the use of first-class travel and luxury hotel suites, among other things. (Fox News)
Mink, a sixth-grade teacher at Sidwell Friends, the school former President Obama’s daughters attended, had notes that she occasionally glanced at while talking to Pruitt.
“I had to decide what to say, he’s so scandal-ridden,” Mink told The New York Post. “I jotted down just a couple points that I wanted to make to him that were a little on the specific side.”
Pruitt left after the encounter but according to his spokesman, that was not the reason.
“Administrator Pruitt always welcomes input from Americans, whether they agree or disagree with the decisions being made at EPA," Lincoln Ferguson, EPA spokesman, said in a statement. "This is evident by him listening to her comments and going on to thank her, which is not shown in the video. His leaving had nothing to do with the confrontation, he had simply finished his meal and needed to get back to EPA for a briefing.”
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