Government watchdog group releases epic one-word statement after Scott Pruitt finally resigns

Riccardo Savi/Getty Images for Concordia Summit

Scott Pruitt has resigned as head of the EPA.

• Scott Pruitt resigned as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday, and a top government watchdog released a simple but effective one-word statement on this development: "Good."
• Pruitt is under a dozen investigations regarding ethics violations.
• Andy Wheeler, the the EPA's current deputy head, will assume the role of acting administrator.

Scott Pruitt resigned as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday and a top government watchdog released a simple, but effective one-word statement on this development: "Good."

Pruitt has been mired in scandal for months over his behavior as EPA chief, and there have been widespread calls for him to resign.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) has been especially critical of Pruitt.

Norman Eisen, CREW's chairman, in May wrote an op-ed with two other senior members of the watchdog group that said, "In any normal administration, Pruitt would be long gone. ... There is no appropriate basis for retaining a cabinet secretary who has behaved like Pruitt."

Pruitt is under a dozen investigations regarding ethics violations, including allegations that he enlisted government staffers to help his wife get a job managing a franchise of the fast-food chain Chick-fil-A. He was also criticized for spending exorbitant amounts of money on personal security and for regularly taking first-class flights. 

Beyond concerns over ethics violations, critics long contended that Pruitt was a dubious choice to head the EPA given his controversial views on climate change.

In February, for example, Pruitt suggested global warming could be good for humans.

"We know humans have most flourished during times of warming trends," Pruitt said at the time. "There are assumptions made that because the climate is warming that necessarily is a bad thing."

Announcing Pruitt's resignation on Thursday, President Donald Trump tweeted, "I have accepted the resignation of Scott Pruitt as the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. Within the Agency Scott has done an outstanding job, and I will always be thankful to him for this."

Trump also said Andy Wheeler, the the EPA's current deputy head, will assume the role of acting administrator, adding, "I have no doubt that Andy will continue on with our great and lasting EPA agenda. We have made tremendous progress and the future of the EPA is very bright!"