WASHINGTON, July 5 (Xinhua) -- After facing months of allegations over ethical and legal violations, Scott Pruitt, administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), finally stepped down.
His resignation was announced by U.S. President Donald Trump on Twitter on Thursday. The president also said Andrew Wheeler, the EPA's deputy administrator who was recently confirmed by the Senate, will assume duties as the agency's acting administrator next week.
Pruitt, 50, was under scrutiny for months over controversies relating to his travel practices, security costs, ties with lobbyists and industry groups, and use of government resources.
It has been revealed that Pruitt used taxpayers' money to fund his weekend trips; tried to get jobs for his wife with his position; vastly expanded the spending on his office; and asked professional staff for personal affairs.
He was also accused of giving questionable raises for top aides and retaliating against EPA whistleblowers and reportedly asked staff to find a used mattress from a Trump-owned hotel.
Pruitt had denied wrongdoing and often blamed his staff for any missteps, but those acts incurred a number of inquiries by Congress, the EPA itself and the White House. Democratic lawmakers and some fellow Republicans had called for him to resign.
"Scott Pruitt's reign of venality is finally over," Gerry Connolly, a Democratic congressman tweeted Thursday. "He made swamp creatures blush with his shameless excesses."
A spokesman for the EPA's Office of Inspector General said Thursday that ongoing or pending reviews over him will continue despite Pruitt's resignation.
Trump, who had previously said he has confidence in Pruitt, still appeared to be approving of his job. "Within the Agency Scott has done an outstanding job," the president said in the same tweet announcing Pruitt's departure.
A former Oklahoma attorney general reportedly having close ties to fossil fuel industries, Pruitt has strongly defended Trump's decision to quit the Paris climate accord.
Known for questioning the human role in global climate change, Pruitt was also praised by the president for vastly rolling back Obama-era environmental regulations that the White House claims hinder economic growth.
He announced last year that he would withdraw the Clean Power Plan, also an Obama-era regulatory structure to limit greenhouse gas emissions on a state-by-state basis.
Critics and environmental activists have warned Pruitt's moves would endanger clean water and air.
Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont tweeted Thursday that Pruitt has led the EPA "in exactly the wrong direction" and "his resignation is a positive step forward" for the country.
"Instead of protecting our environment and combating climate change, he has worked to protect the interests of the fossil fuel industry and polluters all over the country," Sanders said in another tweet.
Trump has recently admitted that he's not happy about "certain things" when asked about the scandal-hit Pruitt.
White House spokesman Hogan Gidley on Tuesday called ethical questions facing Pruitt "troublesome," adding that "these things matter to the president as well, and he's looking into those."
A former lobbyist for the coal industry, Wheeler has also questioned results published by scientists on climate. Analysts say Wheeler, seen as a shrewd operator, will likely continue the path Pruitt has put the EPA on.
