Stopping Scott Pruitt

Scott Pruitt’s corruption finally caught up with him. After months of mounting scandals about his cronyism, ethical violations and anti-environmental policies, we finally got rid of him thanks to the thousands of Friends of the Earth activists who fought to protect the Environmental Protection Agency. Pruitt can no longer deceive Americans or destroy our environment.

Scott Pruitt began a full-scale assault on our environmental protections the day he became EPA administrator in February 2017. Pruitt attacked clean air and clean water, limited EPA’s ability to conduct scientific research, censored climate science and vowed to roll back any Obama-era environmental regulations — all while cozying up to corporate polluters. The mission of the EPA is to protect our air and water. The mission of Scott Pruitt was to end EPA as we know it.

Friends of the Earth opposed Pruitt’s nomination and escalated a campaign to fight his destructive, polluting agenda and blatant corruption.

We called for Scott Pruitt’s removal from office in the media, on digital billboards and in the skies. When news came out that Pruitt got a sweetheart deal on his condo’s rent from the wife of a fossil fuel lobbyist, we took a creative turn in calling out his unethical behavior. We posted hundreds of posters across Washington, D.C. that highlighted his cronyism. We also worked with our members across the country to hang the same posters in local congressional offices.

Friends of the Earth put pressure on Republican members of Congress to speak out against Scott Pruitt. We joined Pruitt at his congressional hearings and held signs behind his head to call out his corruption. Following the hearing, every photo of Scott Pruitt featured our call for his removal in the background. We refused to let his unethical behavior go unnoticed.

More than 300,000 people signed petitions calling for Pruitt to go, and we worked with 9,000 people to deliver petitions to congressional offices across the country.

This win shows that activism and sustained public pressure can bring about real change. When we hold elected officials accountable, when we expose their scandals to the media and when citizens speak out, we can ensure corruption doesn’t get a free pass.

Pruitt’s resignation is a massive victory — yet our fight to save EPA from this administration’s attacks is far from over. Pruitt’s replacement, Andrew Wheeler, is a coal industry crony who could undoubtedly follow Pruitt’s anti-environment footsteps. If so, we will hold the same spotlight on any of his misdeeds.

We will continue to work to remove every member of this administration who has abused their power and put polluter profits over people and the planet.