Pruitt Gets Bounced

One of the arguments in favor of the richest cabinet in American history is; they’re already rich, so we don’t have to worry about them fleecing us. That’s a horrible argument. Are they telling us that if they weren’t wealthy then they’d be dishonest, untrustworthy, and a gang of thieves? As it turns out, that’s what they are anyway. Maybe it’s how they got rich in the first place. I own five guitars, but I’d like to think that if I didn’t own any that I wouldn’t go out stealing guitars.

Last week, California representative Maxine Waters called upon the public to harass and get in the face of Trump’s cabinet members in public and tell them how the administration is destroying America. Immediately, Trump accused her of calling for violence against his team (which she wasn’t) and hinted that violence would happen to her. She was painted as the crazy face of the Democratic Party (they were ignoring their own Jim Jordan). Even a lot of Democrats distanced themselves from her. As it turns out, her strategy is working.

For months, everyone in Washington, even Republicans, have wondered out loud how in the hell EPA chief Scott Pruitt still has a job. There are at least 14 current investigations into the guy’s corruption. For a president who ran on “drain the swamp,” Pruitt was the very definition of Swamp Thing. Other cabinet members had been fired for less while Trump continued to lavish praise on Pruitt. And then, a video went viral of one mom confronting Pruitt in public and that’s all she wrote. Maxine is looking less crazy now.

Kristin Mink, a teacher in Washington, D.C. confronted Pruitt while he was having lunch in a D.C. restaurant. While holding her two-year-old son, Mink calmly said to Pruitt, “This is my son. He loves animals. He loves clean air. He loves clean water. Meanwhile, you’re slashing strong fuel standards for cars and trucks for the benefit of big corporations. We deserve to have somebody at the EPA who actually does protect our environment, somebody who believes in climate change and takes it seriously for the benefit of all of us, including our children. I would urge you to resign before your scandals push you out.”

Is it crazy to think that after months of intense investigative journalism and even an Oval Office campaign from Chief of Staff John Kelly to get rid of Pruitt, that one mom’s criticism of Pruitt is what did the job? Not at all. This is a president who works on optics. The rest of Trump’s cabinet may wanna start bagging their lunch and eating at their desk. I’m looking at you Betsy DeVos, Ryan Zinke, and Ben Carson. You never see Ivanka and Jared at Ben’s Chili Bowl.

Trump Baby’s Swamp Baby has been a very selfish, greedy, and petty little boy. The man seemingly engaged in one corrupt act after another to see how far he could push it and what he could get away with.

He is being investigated for travel, using first-class flights when it’s not necessary and viewing his office as a means to visit as many exotic locations as possible. He argued he couldn’t fly coach as people would tell him he sucked (which was true). He even traveled to pitch for corporations he was supposed to be regulating.

He rented a condo from a lobbyist at a sweetheart deal. As it turns out, despite the cheap rent in an expensive area of D.C., he was lousy at paying his rent.

He required round-the-clock security and even needed them on trips to the Rose Bowl and a trip to Disneyland. There were a lot of questions regarding how much of our money he was spending on his security. He spent $43,000 on a soundproof phone booth for his office. He paid a business partner of his top bodyguard $3,000 to sweep his office for listening devices.

He instructed staffers to help his wife get a six-figure job, a Chick-fil-A franchise, and to run out to expensive hotels to purchase him fancy schmancy hand lotion. He even had one attempt to buy him a used mattress from the Washington Trump Hotel. He’s also had them pay for his hotel rooms with their personal money and later refused to pay them back.

Over White House objections, he gave pay raises worth tens of thousands of dollars to two buddies he hired. Staff members who spoke up about Pruitt’s actions were harassed, punished, reassigned, or demoted.

On top of all this, he was using multiple email accounts. I do recall something during the campaign, and non-stop ever since, about “her emails.” It turns out, he was keeping a secret schedule from the public, scrubbing controversial events from his calendar. There are also multiple inquiries into violating lobbying laws.

Pruitt’s shenanigans ranged from the petty to the ridiculous. He was even asked to stop eating at the White House Mess so often. The biggest reason he kept his job for so long was that he was still doing the job exactly the way Trump wanted him to, other than the negative headlines.

In his resignation letter, Pruitt blamed “the unrelenting attacks” on himself and his family, which “have taken a sizable toll on all of us.” White Christian men are always the most victimized people in this nation. Can’t a guy buy a used mattress from his boss and expensive hand lotion from D.C. hotels without getting so much flack? The investigations won’t end with his resignation.

Pruitt had asked his security detail to use their sirens to run red lights, so he could get to expensive French restaurants quicker. Let’s hope he hits every red light on his way back to Oklahoma.

Watch me draw.

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