This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Two top aides have resigned from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) amid a growing series of federal ethics investigations, Scott Pruitt, the agency chief, announced on Tuesday.

Trump tells EPA chief Pruitt 'we've got your back' despite ethics controversy Read more

In response, Don Beyer, a Democratic congressman from Virginia who has pushed for investigations of ethical problems under Pruitt, said the administrator “should be the next to go”.

In statements, Pruitt gave no immediate reasons why the security chief, Pasquale “Nino” Perrotta, and Superfund manager, Albert Kelly, were leaving. EPA spokespeople Jahan Wilcox and Liz Bowman did not immediately respond to questions about whether the departures were related to federal investigations.

Pruitt’s spending on security, and some of the security contracts with Perrotta, are among the subjects of more than a dozen federal investigations involving the EPA under Pruitt, a former Oklahoma attorney general.

Pruitt said Perrotta was retiring, and praised what he described as Perrotta’s hard work and dedication. He thanked Kelly for what he said was his “tremendous impact” in a year overseeing the nation’s Superfund program, charged with handling the cleanup of toxic waste sites.

Pruitt hired Kelly, an Oklahoma banker, after federal banking regulators banned the man from banking for life over unspecified lending matters. Democrats in Congress last month asked for federal investigations of Kelly’s reported loans to Pruitt himself while the two were still in Oklahoma.

Albert Kelly was never qualified to run Superfund, his banking ban was a huge red flag Don Beyer, Democrat from Virginia

Last week, Pruitt weathered six hours of grilling from congressional Democrats over the steady flow of news reports and announcements of new investigations involving alleged ethical lapses at his agency, including spending for round-the-clock security guards, first-class plane tickets and a $43,000 soundproof telephone booth.

Pruitt repeatedly deflected blame, saying subordinates had taken the questioned actions without his knowledge. Scott Peters, a California Democrat, pressed Pruitt for more details about why exactly Kelly had been sanctioned by regulators.

“I think Mr Kelly, if he’s willing to share that with you, he should do that,” Pruitt said.

In his statement on Tuesday, Beyer added: “Albert Kelly was never qualified to run Superfund, his banking ban was a huge red flag and his resignation is a positive development.”



Pruitt has also attracted scrutiny over a rental deal at a Capitol Hill condo linked to an energy-sector lobbyist. As the architect of a program of rollbacks of Obama-era environmental regulations, Pruitt has retained the support of Donald Trump.