Scott Pruitt Already Dancing On Jeff Sessions's Grave

Scott Pruitt is already putting out feelers to claim the job as his own.

(Photo by Pete Marovich/Getty Images)

Jeff Sessions may still be the Attorney General, but with a man-child with a penchant for lashing out as president, it is best to be prepared for a sudden vacancy. That must be current EPA chief Scott Pruitt’s working philosophy, because Sessions’s grave isn’t cold yet — hell, he’s still in the job — and Pruitt is already putting out feelers to claim the job as his own.

As Bloomberg reports, rumors are swirling that Pruitt would gladly slip into the top spot at the Justice Department, should Sessions find himself on the outs:

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt has told associates he’d be willing to lead the Justice Department should the position become available, according to two people familiar with the matter.

The former Oklahoma attorney general has discussed the matter in recent days amid renewed speculation about the tenure of Attorney General Jeff Sessions, said the people, who asked not to be identified describing internal conversations.

These rumors surface as more reports about the president’s dissatisfaction with Sessions, which began when the AG decided to recuse himself from the Russia investigation, come to light. Last week it was revealed that White House Counsel Don McGahn and other administration officials urged Sessions to maintain control of the Russia probe, but legal ethics being what they are, Sessions stepped aside. Though Sessions weathered Trump’s initial outburst over that decision, Bloomberg reports the president’s anger over the issue “tends to resurface periodically after news reports on the Russia investigation and Sessions’s role in the probe.”

It seems increasingly unlikely that anyone, save, perhaps, the president’s own flesh and blood, will survive this administration. And Pruitt, as far back as an October interview, has come out as an opportunist, ready to do Donald Trump’s bidding:

“I am here because I really feel called to it,” Pruitt said at the time. “You do what’s before you, you do the best work you can, you bless the president — I really serve to bless him and his process and help him form decisions and lead with direction here — and then you see what opportunities present themselves in the future on how to better the agenda overall.”

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Sessions may currently have a job with the administration, but now he knows who is waiting in the wings should the president become (even more) unhappy with him.


headshotKathryn Rubino is an editor at Above the Law. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).

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