Environmental group launches ad campaign targeting Pruitt’s lobbyist ties

Environmental group the Sierra Club launched a digital advertisement campaign Friday aimed at Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt.

The ad, shared on Instagam, Facebook and Twitter to Washington, D.C.- and Oklahoma-based audiences, highlights a number of controversies tied to Pruitt’s relationship with lobbyists, including reports that he rented a $50-a-night condo from the wife of an energy lobbyist and worked in tandem with a number of special interest groups when booking international work trips.

Titled: “Do-it-Pruitt,” the satirical digital campaign advertises services to everyday users similar to those utilized by Pruitt since his time heading the EPA. 

{mosads}

“Looking to plan a luxury vacation to far off places like Australia, Morocco or Italy? Try Do-it-Pruitt, your one-stop shop for outrageous pay-to-play deals at the Environmental Protection Agency,” the ad says. “We have a lobbyist ready to make your plane, dinner and hotel reservations for you; all you have to do is meet with their corporate polluter clients.”

The advertisement additionally offers “lobbyist landlords at the ready, with sweetheart deals” like the one the ad’s “CEO” Pruitt received.

“The best part is, everything is subsidized by the taxpayer,” the ad says.

Sierra Club has been vocal in opposing a number of policy changes made at the EPA under Pruitt that roll back environmental protections.

“The ad highlights Pruitt’s scandalous relationship with lobbyists at the expense of our health and our tax dollars. We deserve an EPA administrator who cares more about the health and safety of our families than the opulent perks of his lobbyist friends,” Maura Cowley, Sierra Club Resist campaign director, said in a statement.

Pruitt faced a tough day on Capitol Hill earlier this week, testifying in front of a House Appropriations subcommittee Tuesday about the agency’s shrunken fiscal 2019 budget proposal as well as a number of the controversies tied to the administrator, including those highlighted in the advertisement.