President Donald Trump on Friday defended Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt as the embattled administrator faces mounting reports of lavish spending and questionable decisions related to his staff and housing arrangements, NBC News reported.
"Do you believe that the Fake News Media is pushing hard on a story that I am going to replace A.G. Jeff Sessions with EPA Chief Scott Pruitt, who is doing a great job but is TOTALLY under siege?" Trump wrote in a Friday morning tweet.
"Do people really believe this stuff?" he added. "So much of the media is dishonest and corrupt!"
In recent weeks, Pruitt has been the subject of multiple negative reports that have raised ethics concerns about his frequent first class travel, his sweetheart deal to rent a condo from the wife of an energy lobbyist, and big pay raises reportedly afforded to top aides without White House approval.
