Scott Pruitt, the former head of the Environmental Protection Agency, is considering a candidacy for an open Senate seat in Oklahoma. According to three sources, Pruitt has been calling for measures of support if he declares his candidacy for the already crowded Republican primaries.
Republican Sen. Jim Inhofe announced in February who would retire from the Senate later this year. The upcoming vacancy has aroused the interest of a wide range of candidates.
Representative Markwayne Mullin, former Oklahoma House Speaker TW Shannon, Oklahoma State Senator Nate Dahm and former Inhofe Chief of Staff Luke Holland have already announced that they will be running for office. Republican primaries. Inhofe supported the Netherlands. Former Democrat Kendra Horn, who lost her re-election in 2020, has also announced she is running for office.
Pruitt was Oklahoma’s attorney general before taking over the EPA. As an agency administrator, he was key to implement President Trump’s conservative environmental agenda.
Andrew Harnik / AP
Pruitt’s tenure in the EPA under Trump was marred by ethical scandals that gave Pruitt the look he was trying to personally benefit from his office. The department’s inspector general initiated several investigations into Pruitt during his tenure, but most of those probes were inconclusive because Pruitt resigned in 2018 before the investigations were completed.
Among the scandals: he argued that he needed to fly in first class for threats to his safety. Pruitt arranged an estimated real estate deal, paying only $ 50 a night to stay in an apartment owned by an energy lobby.
He also used EPA staff for personal business: he asked a government employee to locate a mattress at the Trump Hotel and used official staff to investigate a possible business opportunity for him with Chick-fil-a .
But despite a barrage of headlines, Pruitt never lost the support of his boss, former President Trump.
Pruitt will have to decide whether to enter the race before April 15th. Pruitt did not answer two calls for comment.
Race primaries are scheduled for June 28 and general elections will be held on November 8. Any GOP candidate who prevails in the primaries will be a big favorite to replace Inhofe, who has two years in office for six years.
Oklahoma will have two Senate elections in 2022. Current Republican Sen. James Lankford is running for re-election and faces a major challenge.
Major Garrett contributed to this report.
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