Pruitt, the Latest in a Growing Cloud of Corruption Over Trump's White House

In the latest installment in the Trump Administration's culture of corruption, cronyism and incompetence, EPA chief Scott Pruitt is at the center of the chaos with his misuse of taxpayer dollars on first-class plane trips, luxurious lobbyist-owned condo rental for just $50 a night, abuse of the Safe Drinking Water Act to give shocking raises to his top aides, and other outrageous, dare we say – unhinged, demands including a 20-person protective security detail, bulletproof SUV, bulletproof desks, a $100,000 per month contract with a private jet company, biometric locks and a $40,000+ soundproof booth for confidential conversations.

Yet Pruitt remains a treasured member of President Trump's Administration.

As the saying goes: "the fish rots from the head."  New York Magazine points out this green-light for corruption starts with the President himself:

One of the (many, many) odd things about the Trump presidency is the fact that administration officials routinely lose their jobs for offenses that the president has unambiguously committed himself.

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A similar dissonance has hung over the Trump Cabinet's (many, many) corruption scandals. Tom Price was clearly a shady figure who abused his power to feather his nest — but that is also obviously true of a president who literally rents personal access to himself for $200,000 a year.

All this raises the question of why the president has shown relatively little tolerance toward his underlings when they engage in the most sincere form of flattery. The consensus answer is that Trump doesn't mind corruption (let alone birtherism), but he could do without bad headlines.

President Trump who has been ‘greedy, greedy, greedy' his ‘whole life' heads one of the most corrupt, self-enriching cabinet in the history of the United States.  Instead of working for America's ‘forgotten men and women,' Trump has brought his reality TV show to Washington and his signature brand of chaos to the White House, with staff and Cabinet members leaving one at a time under clouds of scandal.

Below are just a few examples of how current and former Trump Administration officials have found themselves under federal investigation for waste, fraud and abuse:

• Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin – at least $1 million (including a trip to watch the total solar eclipse with his wife)
• Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke – at least $200,000 (including $139,000 for a door renovation and $40,000 on scenic helicopter flights over Nevada's national monuments)
• HUD Secretary Ben Carson – at least $31,000 (including an extravagant mahogany dining set – comprised of a dining table, 10 chairs, sideboard and hutch – with a blue velvet finish)
• Former VA Secretary David Shulkin – at least $122,000 (including a cross-Atlantic trip to Wimbledon with his wife)
• Former HHS Secretary Tom Price – nearly $1 million (including trips with his wife to Geneva, Berlin, Beijing, Tokyo and taking her on a private jet to an exclusive Georgia resort on St. Simons Island)

Under the Trump Administration, it's not the hard-working families who are getting richer, it's the president, his family and his friends.

While the Administration continues to push a self-enriching agenda and try to hide corruption under the rug, the American people will hold President Trump and his Cabinet accountable for the chaos and dysfunction.