Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt has responded to controversy surrounding negative remarks he made in 2016 about President Donald Trump.
“After meeting him, and now having the honor of working for him, it is abundantly clear that President Trump is the most consequential leader of our time,” Pruitt said in an emailed statement.
Democrats were quick to capitalize on Pruitt’s remarks from when he served as a campaign adviser to former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, a Republican.
Rhode Island Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse grilled Pruitt in a hearing Tuesday morning on comments the former Oklahoma attorney general made about Trump during the 2016 presidential primary.
Liberal activists with Documented found audio from a 2016 radio interview where Pruitt said Trump “would be more abusive to the Constitution than Barack Obama – and that’s saying a lot.”
NOW WATCH:
Activists shared the audio with The Washington Post. The audio was also shared with Whitehouse, who then prepared posters for the hearing.
.@EPAScottPruitt mostly sits stoically as @SenWhitehouse asks him about a 2/4/16 radio interview in which Pruitt agreed w/ host that Trump is “dangerous” & a “bully.” pic.twitter.com/SfIbT9Z5uK
— Jennifer A. Dlouhy (@jendlouhyhc) January 30, 2018
Whitehouse pressed Pruitt on the Trump remarks during the hearing, asking him if he recalled calling Trump “a bully.”
“I don’t, senator,” Pruitt responded. “And I don’t echo that today at all.”
Now, Pruitt is pushing back on any suggestion he didn’t believe Trump would follow the U.S. constitution.
“No one has done more to advance the rule of law than President Trump,” Pruitt said in the statement. “The President has liberated our country from the political class and given America back to the people.”
Follow Michael on Facebook and Twitter
The Daily Caller News Foundation is working hard to balance out the biased American media. For as little as $3, you can help us. Make a one-time donation to support the quality, independent journalism of TheDCNF. We’re not dependent on commercial or political support and we do not accept any government funding.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.