White House chief of staff John Kelly John Francis KellyMORE told Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt Edward (Scott) Scott PruittJuan Williams: Swamp creature at the White House Science protections must be enforceable Conspicuous by their absence from the Republican Convention MORE that President Trump Donald John TrumpBiden on Trump's refusal to commit to peaceful transfer of power: 'What country are we in?' Romney: 'Unthinkable and unacceptable' to not commit to peaceful transition of power Two Louisville police officers shot amid Breonna Taylor grand jury protests MORE wanted him to step down before confirming his resignation on Thursday, Bloomberg reported Friday.

Sources told Bloomberg that Pruitt had no intention of resigning and was surprised and devastated by the request.

Kelly’s ask came after reports that Pruitt’s staff would “scrub” events from his calendar before making the entries public — according to Bloomberg, the revelation embarrassed Trump, ultimately prompting him to call for Pruitt's resignation.

The reported “secret” calendars could be in violation of the Federal Records Act, adding to the more than a dozen allegations that Pruitt violated ethical or spending standards while serving as EPA administrator.

ADVERTISEMENT

One source told Bloomberg that Trump was also embarrassed by reports that Pruitt enlisted an aide to help him obtain a used mattress from the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C.

The New York Times reported Thursday that Trump had been privately floating the idea of Pruitt's resignation for months, frequently being encouraged by top advisers to dismiss the embattled EPA head.

The president also was reportedly embarrassed by a CNN report Tuesday that Pruitt had asked Trump to fire Attorney General Jeff Sessions Jefferson (Jeff) Beauregard SessionsGOP set to release controversial Biden report Trump's policies on refugees are as simple as ABCs Ocasio-Cortez, Velázquez call for convention to decide Puerto Rico status MORE and temporarily appoint him to lead the Justice Department, according to the Times.

Pruitt resigned on Thursday after facing months of mounting ethical scandals and federal investigations. Trump announced the resignation on Twitter.

Trump disputed that Pruitt was asked to resign, telling reporters on Thursday that the decision “was very much up to him.”