Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator Scott Pruitt is taking incoming fire from multiple directions these days. Scandals emerging over his first class airline travel, large security detail, and unorthodox living arrangements in a Capitol Hill townhouse have combined to raise doubts about his future in President Donald Trump's cabinet.

The most egregious Pruitt scandal, though, involves the use of a little-known provision in the Safe Drinking Water Act, which permits the EPA administrator to hire up to 30 people into the agency without White House or congressional approval.

According to reporting by Elaina Plott and Robinson Meyer of The Atlantic, the provision exists in order to give the agency the ability to bring in experts and help relieve personnel shortages in key offices. (The Washington Postsubsequently confirmed The Atlantic's reporting.)

SEE ALSO:Leaked EPA email tells staff to play up climate denial, ignore actual data

Pruitt, however, used the provision to give significant pay raises to two political aides — Sarah Greenwalt and Millan Hupp — even though the White House had turned down a separate request from Pruitt for salary increases to those two political appointees in a meeting in early March.

One of the staffers saw their salary balloon by $28,130, compared to 2017 levels, and the other got a $56,765 raise, according to The Atlantic. The latter salary increase brought Greenwalt's salary to more than $160,000, higher than what most senior-level employees at the EPA typically earn.

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Also, because they were appointed to the agency under the Safe Drinking Water Act, neither political aide had to sign ethics pledges concerning lobbying activities and other conflicts of interest.

Here are the two most important paragraphs from from the story:

After the White House rejected their request, Pruitt’s team studied the particulars of the Safe Drinking Water provision, according to the source with direct knowledge of these events. By reappointing Greenwalt and Hupp under this authority, they learned, Pruitt could exercise total control over their contracts and grant the raises on his own.

Pruitt ordered it done. Though Hupp and Greenwalt’s duties did not change, the agency began processing them for raises of $28,130 and $56,765, respectively, compared with their 2017 salaries. Less than two weeks after Pruitt had approached the White House, according to time-stamped Human Resources documents shared with The Atlantic, the paperwork was finished.

The pay raises illustrate that Pruitt is not particularly concerned about angering the White House, and has little regard for the morale of the civil servants at the agency he leads. The Atlanticpoints out that of all the scandals whirling around Pruitt right now, this is the one that is being talked about the most internally at EPA, given the size of the pay raises and unusual way they were handled.

The EPA inspector general's office is currently investigating Pruitt for running afoul of government travel rules and ethics violations, and lawmakers are now pushing for a review of the pay raises, as well.

What better way to say "environmental protection" than to visit a coal mine?Credit: Photo by Justin Merriman/Getty Images

The one thing Pruitt has going for him is that more than any other cabinet member, he has been enormously visible in enacting President Trump's agenda through deregulation. On Tuesday morning, for example, Pruitt spoke about reversing the Obama administration's fuel economy standards, which are considered a key ingredient in any successful policy to address global warming. Pruitt and Trump think they're too onerous for car manufacturers.

Pruitt has also been rolling back other regulations on climate change, including the Clean Power Plan, which would limit the emissions from coal-fired power plants.

Pruitt is considered a villain by environmental groups, who have organized a campaign to oust him. It's hard to imagine another EPA leader with more disdain for the mission of the agency he or she leads.

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TopicsPolitics