Washington (CNN) In the wake of reports that he bypassed the White House to give large pay raises to two aides, embattled Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt is conceding the raises "should not have happened," while denying that he was aware the raises were given out in the first place.

In a clip of an interview with Fox News' Ed Henry that aired on Wednesday, Pruitt pushed back against the assertion that he granted the raises, which combined were over $80,000.

After Henry asked: "If you're committed to the Trump agenda, why did you go around the President and the White House and give pay raises to two staffers?" Pruitt interjected: "I did not."

"My staff did and I found out about that yesterday and I changed it," Pruitt told Fox News. When Henry asked if somebody would be fired over it, Pruitt replied: "There will be some accountability on that."

"We are in the process of finding out how it took place and correcting that," the EPA administrator said.

Read More