Mom confronts EPA head Scott Pruitt at DC restaurant: I want you to resign

Ashley May | USA TODAY

A mother confronted President Donald Trump's Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt on Monday, asking him to resign.

Kristin Mink wrote on Facebook that she walked up to Pruitt at a Teaism restaurant in Washington, D.C., Monday carrying her 2-year-old son. In a video, Mink is seen telling Pruitt how her son loves animals, breathing clean air and drinking clean water.

Referencing notes, Mink speaks of scandals surrounding the EPA head, including his reported room rent deal with with the wife of an energy lobbyist. Pruitt has been criticized by environmentalists and public health advocacy groups for trying to undo a number of Obama-era regulations addressing water quality, clean air and climate change. Recently, there have also been various reports of asking a top aide to run personal errands.

"I would urge you to resign before your scandals push you out," Mink, a teacher at Quaker school Sidwell Friends, said in the video.

Pruitt is seen quietly listening to Mink's statements. The video cuts out after Mink's speech. She said Pruitt had no response and left the restaurant before she returned to her seat three tables away.

But, Lincoln Ferguson, EPA spokesman, said Pruitt thanked her for her comments.

“Administrator Pruitt always welcomes input from Americans, whether they agree or disagree with the decisions being made at EPA," Ferguson said in a statement sent to USA TODAY. "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.”

The encounter comes after a number of Trump officials have been asked to leave or harassed at restaurants, including White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen.