... the sharp turn at the EPA and Pruitt's close ties to the industry have raised questions about whose interests the agency is protecting.
... the change has also weakened an agency designed to save lives.
... In Pruitt's view, protecting the environment is just one element of his job as the country's chief environmental regulator, on par with promoting the economy. (Heaven forbid.)
... Schedules released in response to open record requests show that his calendar has been crammed with meetings with industry executives, from the president of Shell Oil Co. to Bob Murray, the Ohio coal baron. (You're no longer economic royalty if your company has been flirting with bankruptcy for over a year.)
... In most cases, Pruitt does not argue that regulations have no benefits. Instead, he attacks them as inconsistent with the letter of the law and argues that the economic costs outweigh the benefits. (Imagine that.)
Here we are, more than 9 months after Trump’s inauguration, and Pruitt’s do-nothing EPA hasn’t dumped toxic wastes into a single river.