Weekly Standard calls on Pruitt to resign

The Weekly Standard is joining numerous left-wing voices in calling on Scott Pruitt, President Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) chief, to resign from his post.

In an editorial published Monday, the stalwart conservative publication said Pruitt has done good work at the agency and accomplished major conservative goals, which the publication strongly supports.

But, while they blamed the mainstream media for at least some of the controversies, the editors said Pruitt has gone way too far.

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“The media, and especially the New York Times and Washington Post from which other media take their cue, shared the view of rank and file EPA bureaucrats that Pruitt was ‘anti-science’ and therefore illegitimate. His deregulatory efforts, in their view, would result in environmental catastrophe,” the editors wrote.

But they argued that Pruitt also “invites” the controversy, calling out lavish dinners, a new SUV, first-class flights, an expensive security detail, a condo rental from a lobbyist couple and more, leading to nearly a dozen federal investigations into him.

“As those who view the environmentalist movement with skepticism, we find the whole thing deeply regrettable. But we reject the common assumption that public officials should get a pass so long as they hold the right policy opinions, whatever those opinions are,” they said.

“We share Pruitt’s views on environmental deregulation and value his accomplishments in office. But the time has come for him to go.”

The Weekly Standard and its founder Bill Kristol have been known for being outspoken against Trump.

But until Monday, the magazine had cheered Pruitt as a solid, conservative leader. Fred Barnes, its executive editor, profiled Pruitt in a December cover story that dubbed him “The Man They Love To Hate.”