In case you’re still able to think the words “Scott Pruitt” without your next thought being “insanely corrupt,” the Washington Post reported on Tuesday that Pruitt used Environmental Protection Agency resources to try to help his wife buy a Chick-fil-A.
Coming on the heels of yesterday’s distressing reporting that Pruitt sent an aide on a quest to get him a USED Trump Hotel mattress, the Post reported that Pruitt’s scheduler reached out to Dan Cathy, chairman and president of the fast food company, to discuss “a potential business opportunity,” according to emails obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request by the Sierra Club.
If that sounds like a scam, that’s because it essentially was: Pruitt’s scheduler, Sydney Hupp, set up a phone call to express “interest in his wife becoming a Chick-fil-A franchisee,” a company spokesperson told the newspaper. Sadly, Marlyn Pruitt never opened her little slice of fried chicken heaven. She started but didn’t finish a Chick-fil-A franchisee application, the company also said.
It wasn’t Pruitt’s only time intervening on his wife’s behalf, perhaps in part because the couple is feeling the squeeze. Per the Post:
Pruitt also approached the chief executive of Concordia, a New York nonprofit organization. The executive, Matthew Swift, said he ultimately paid Marlyn Pruitt $2,000 plus travel expenses to help organize the group’s annual conference last September.
Multiple current and former EPA aides, speaking on the condition of anonymity to describe private conversations, said Pruitt told them he was eager for his wife to start receiving a salary. Two said Pruitt was frustrated in part by the high cost of maintaining homes in both Washington and Oklahoma.
The EPA declined to comment on the latest to the paper. Aside from Pruitt’s penchant for spending government money (but not his own), the EPA chief’s misuse of his aides’ time is also becoming something of a trend: Oddly enough, the scheduler’s sister, Millan, was tasked with helping Pruitt conduct his Washington housing hunt on personal time, in addition to being the aide on Trump mattress duty.
It’s no wonder working at the EPA is apparently hell!