Scott Pruitt appealed to President Trump to fire Attorney General Jeff Sessions and give him the job, despite mounting claims of management and fiscal abuse piling up at his Environmental Protection Agency, according to a report Tuesday.

The scandal-scarred EPA boss pitched Trump on the job change during an Oval Office meeting this spring, CNN reported, citing three people with knowledge of the conversation.

Had Trump said yes, the network reports Pruitt would have held Sessions’ position for 210 days under the Vacancies Reform Act before returning to Oklahoma to run for office. CNN also reported in March that the former Oklahoma Attorney General was posturing for a possible U.S. Senate bid in 2020.

But advisers at Trump’s White House dashed Pruitt’s request, which coincided with one of the President’s most recent complaints that Sessions recused himself from the Russia probe.


While unclear when Pruitt made his request, CNN reports Trump suggested replacing Sessions with Pruitt in April.

White House spokesman Hogan Gidley called the growing number of news reports focused on Pruitt’s EPA career “troublesome.”

He did not specify which report was especially concerning and told reporters on board an Air Force One flight to Lewisburg, W.V., that there were no announcements about the future of Pruitt’s employment.

Pruitt, in response to CNN’s report, touted his friendship with Sessions.


“This report is simply false,” Pruitt reportedly said in a statement. “General Sessions and I are friends and I have always said I want nothing more than to see him succeed in his role.”

Pruitt is under federal investigation for renting a condo from an energy lobbyist, increased spending on travel, and his 24-hour security detail.