Document j2r12m9jnkEbNXJ8G7k32Zk5

Message From: Sent: To: Subject: Hale, Michelle [/0=EXCHANGELABS/OU=EXCHANGE ADMINISTRATIVE GROUP (FYDIBOHF23SPDLT)/CN=RECIPIENTS/CN=CB99F5247AB8412FA017133839301FEE-HALE, MICHE] 3/20/2017 6:30:32 PM Garrison, Jessica [jgarrison@balch.com] RE: Pruitt Staff Thanks! -----Original Message----From: Garrison, Jessica [mailto:jgarrison@balch.com] Sent: Monday, March 20, 2017 2:13 PM T o : Hale, Mi chel1e <hale.michel1e@epa.gov> Subject: FW: Pruitt Staff WHITE HOUSE Trump aides cause fri cti on at EPA, other agencies Robi n Bravenderchttps://url defense.proofpoint.com/v2/url ?u=http-3A www.eenews.net_staff_Robin5FBravender&d=DwMFAg&c=aBdhyoZJYduO2RKJitouCNP8RLVZN4_JgMDcVKb9PPk&r=V5WDUQh3exPvRKvoErkL8WRGul9FlfF0epW YJlX_m8&m=RN70sdi mqi ZRi gAGlMTllnV2FGugUwIo50gfjltNYZo&s=y7CU9sYnZdvtzY3mTnLMNFmoN0kq6-QY-GQawWbx4_w&e=>, E&E News reporter [on Benton]Published: Monday, March 20, 2017 EPA senior White House adviser, Don Benton. Photo by Washi ngton State House Republ icans , courtesy of Flickr. White House poli ti cal appoi ntees are clashi ng with U.S. EPA Admi ni strator Scott Pruitt. Staffers instal1ed on the T rump admi ni strati o n 's "beachhead team" at EPA have been at odds with the agency's new chief si nee Pruitt and hi s ai des arrived at headquarters 1ast month. The internal confli cts at EPA have already resulted in one hi gh-profi1e departure, and the Whi te House's 1iai son to the agency has been shut out of meeti ngs by Pruitt, The Washi ngton Post reported yesterday. One source w h o 's in touch with poli ti cal empl oyees at EPA sai d "thi ngs are a mess" at that agency, ci ti ng infi ghti ng among top poli ti cal offi ci a l s . EPA isn't the only agency faci ng internal stri f e . The Post reported that seni or White House ai des in agenci es across government have been tasked with "moni tori ng the secretari e s ' 1oyalty." Those ai des report to White House Deputy Chief of Staff Rick Dearborn, a former aide to S e n . Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) and a former Energy Department offi ci al duri ng the George W. Bush admi ni strati o n . That setup has irked offi ci als in some agenci es across government, although the arrangement has been col 1egi al in some shops - includi ng the Interior Department - accordi ng to the Post. A Whi te House offi ci al told the newspaper t h a t , rather than hoidi ng agenci es accountabl e to the Whi te House, the appoi ntees techni cal 1y report to top offi ci als wi thi n thei r respecti ve departments. Former Obama admi ni strati on offi ci als sai d the role President T rump's Whi te House advi sers appear to be piayi ng is a break from the past. David Hayes, who was Interior's deputy secretary under Presidents Clinton and Obama, said the White House 1iai son jobs in both of those admi ni strati ons "were typi cally not seni or poli cy-ori ented posi ti o n s , they were faci1itators of di scussi ons between the Cabi net secretari es and the Whi te House on personnel and 1ogi sti cal -type issues." Ben Mi 1akofsky, who worked in Obama's Whi te House Offi ce of Cabi net Affai rs before becomi ng Whi te House 1iai son and deputy chief of staff at Interi o r , cal 1ed the T rump admi ni strati o n 's approach "a huge contrast." He a d d e d , "Thi s has potenti al to pi t agenci es agai nst the White H o us e." Campai gn ai des in 1iai son roles Many of the Whi te House 1iai sons in agenci es across government worked on T rump's campai g n . [oug Domenech]Doug Domenech. Photo courtesy of the Texas Publi c Poli cy Foundation. At EPA, former Washi ngton state Se n. Don Benton is servi ng as senior White House advi se r. He was T rump's campai gn chai rman in Washi ngton state. But Benton has been shut out of some EPA staff meeti ng s, the Post reported, after Benton frequently offered unsoli ci ted advi c e . Last w e e k , former Trump poli ti cal appoi ntee Davi d Schnare resi gned from hi s job on EPA's beachhead team. Schnare told E&E News 1ast week that he stepped down as a result of the "misuse of federal funds, failure to honor oaths of offi c e , and a 1ack of 1oyalty to the President" ( G r e e n w i r e c h t t p s : / / u r l d e f e n s e .p r o o f p o i n t .c o m / v 2 / u r l ? u = h t t p 3A__www.eenews.net_stories_1060051580&d=DwMFAg&c=aBdhyoZJYdu02RKJitouCNP8RLVZN4_JgMDcVKb9PPk&r=V5WDUQh3e xPvRKvoErl<L8WRGul9FlfFOepWYJlX_m8&m=RN70sdi mqi ZRi gAGlMTllnV2FGugUwIo50gfj1tNYZo&s=sqyvFROVwaez_BVxrARlsFlQFTia46VMsY3z3bdGFg&e=>, March 16) . EPA spokesman Doug Eri cksen - another former Trump campai gn ai de - and Schnare decli ned to comment for thi s story. The White House press offi ce did not respond to a request for comment. [el 1s Gri ffi th]Wei 1s Gri ffi t h . Photo courtesy of Li nkedln. In addi ti on to Benton, Charies Munoz is worki ng as a Whi te House 1iai son at EPA. Munoz was Nevada state di rector for Tr um p's campai g n . At Interi o r , Doug Domenech is the senior advi ser to the Whi te House. He 1ed the department's transi ti on team and was an Interi or offi ci al duri ng the George W. Bush admi ni strati o n . The Energy Department's seni or Whi te House advi ser is Wells Gri ffi t h , who was battleground states di rector for Tr um p's presi denti al campai g n . Joseph Uddo - who worked for the presi denti al campai gns of T rump and Ben Carson - is al so a DOE 1iai son to the Whi te House (E&E News PMchttps://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url ?u=http- Sierra Club v. EPA 18cv3472 NDCA Tier 3/4 ED 002061 00112534-00001 3A www.eenews.net_eenewspm_stori es__1060051162&d=DwMFAg&c=aBdhyoZJYdu02RKJ itouCNP8RLVZN4_JgMDcVKb9PPk&r=V 5WDUQh3exPvRKvoErkL8WRGul9FlfF0epWYJlX_m8&m=RN7Osdi mqi ZRi gAGlMTll nV2FGugUwIo50gfj 1tNYZo&s=W820FQwBLmuOeTswAiV_oR3s5VinChHmVwE3K7Ve-E&e=>, March 8). At the Agri culture Department, a co-chai rman of the T rump campaign is the top White House 1iai son ( G r e e n w i r e c h t t p s : / / u r l d e f e n s e .p r o o f p o i n t .c o m / v 2 / u r l ? u = h t t p 3A _ w w w . eenews.net_greenwire_stori es_1060045356&d=DwMFAg&c=aBdhyoZJYdu02RKJi touCNP8RLVZN4_JgMDcVKb9PPk&r= V5VvDUQh3exPvRKvoErkL8WRGul9FlfF0epWYJlX_m8&m=RN70sdi mqi ZRi gAGlMTllnV2 FGugUwIo50gfj1tNYZo&s=BJ RyPAwj UaXFf GQTq3AQqaJXIlz41YKNaBLgNIvyGpU&e=>, Nov. 7, 2016). Twitter: @rbravender<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https3A__twitter.com_rbravender&d=DwMFAg&c=aBdhyoZJYdu02RKJi touCNP8RLVZN4_JgMDcVKb9PPk&r=V5VvDUQh3exPvRKvoErkL 8WRGul9FlfF0epWYJlX_m8&m=RN70sdi mqi ZRi gAGlMTllnV2FGugUw!o50gfj1tNYZo&s=NmeDXUUmBJq_JA0zAK507GLKGaIUU9t0XwG HDA6MCR5U&e=> Emai1: rbravenderOeenews.netcmai1t o :rbravender@eenews.net> EPA Pruitt's Okla. posse arrives at agency Kevin Bogardus<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A www.eenews.net_staff_Kevin5FBogardus&d=DwMFAg&c=aBdhyoZJYdu02RKJi touCNP8RLVZN4_JgMDcVKb9PPk&r=V5VvDUQh3exPvRKvoErkL8WRGul9FlfF0epWY JlX_m8&m=RN70sdi mqi ZRigAGlMTllnV2FGugllwIo50gfjltNYZo&s=O2xgdIurzE2X9005eEhe2coZAs_DYsBiu2Ydm7t9mtE&e=> , E&E News reporter Published: Monday, March 20, 2017 A coterie of U.S. EPA Admi ni strator Scott Pruitt's ai des and pol iti cal consultants from hi s ti me in Oklahoma have joi ned the agency. Sources tel 1 E&E News that Pruitt has brought on several staffers at EPA who either worked under him when he was Oklahoma attorney general or were part of hi s campai gn team in the Sooner State. [incoln Ferguson]Lincoln Ferguson. Photo courtesy of Linkedln. Sarah Greenwalt, who was general counsel for the Oklahoma Offi ce of the Attorney General duri ng Pruitt's tenure, has joi ned EPA as senior counsel. In addi ti o n , Li ncoln Ferguson, who was press secretary for the Oklahoma attorney general 's offi c e , has joi ned EPA's publ ic affai rs offi c e . Both Greenwalt and Ferguson piayed a part in the recent controversy over Pruitt's emai1s as Oklahoma attorney general. Last month, Pruitt was sued to release those emai1s under open records 1itigation from the 1iberal1eaning Center for Media and Democracy - some of which he has now released, providing more detai1s on his state offi c e 's close relati onshi p with the oi1 and gas industry. Greenwalt responded to the group's queries for those emai1s whi1e Ferguson has given statements to the press about the 1iti gati o n , cal ling CMD's complai nt "poli ti cal theatre" at one poi nt ( G r e e n w i r e < h t t p s : / / u r l d e f e n s e .p r o o f p o i n t .c o m / v 2 / u r l ? u = h t t p 3A _ w w w . e e n e w s .net_greenwire_stori es_1060049673&d=DwMFAg&c=aBdhyoZJYdu02RKJi touCNP8RLVZN4_JgMDcVKb9PPk&r= V5WDUQh3exPvRKvoErkL8WRGul9FlfF0epWYJlX_m8&m=RN70sdimqiZRigAGlMTllnV2FGugUwIo50gfjltNYZo&s=SOvkuN_yrfwFz QShOYiODrNosULlZODuwKpfYLWecvU&e=>, Feb. 7). Al s o , some of Pruitt's poli ti cal staff have come to EPA. [ydney Hupp]Sydney Hupp. Photo courtesy of Li nkedln. Mi 11 an Hu pp, a poli ti cal consultant who was part of Pruitt's campai gn team in Oklahoma, has joi ned the agency to handle advance w o r k . Her si ster, Sydney Hupp, another former Pruitt campai gn ai d e , has joi ned EPA as well to work as a scheduler. Both Hupps worked on Pruitt's state campai gn for Oklahoma attorney general , accordi ng to Okl ahoma Ethi cs Commission records. Further, duri ng thi s 1ast electi on cycle, Federal Electi on Commi ssi on records show that the Hupp si sters also worked for both of Pruitt's federal poli ti cal groups, the Oklahoma Strong Leadershi p PAC and Li berty 2.0, the EPA chief's super poli ti cal acti on commi ttee. Pruitt faced ethi cs questi ons on whether or not he pianned to keep those poli ti cal groups active whi1e he ran EPA. Both groups fi1ed termi nation 1etters with the FEC on the eve of his confi rmation hearing in January (Climatewirechttps://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http3A _ w w w . e e n e w s .net_climatewire_stori es_1060048623&d=DwMFAg&c=aBdhyoZJYdu02RKJi touCNP8RLVZN4_JgMDcVKb9PPk& r=V5WDUQh3exPvRKvoErkL8WRGul9FlfF0epWYJlX_m8&m=RN7OsdimqiZRigAGlMTllnV2FGugUwIo50gfj1tNYZo&s=r94vWdi euMJ pGtEIP8L0P-MlEFy5fuD_fq40ellRPn6o&e=>, Jan. 19). Al1 four individuals started at EPA 1ast w e e k . [[image]] Jessi ca M. Garri s o n , Of Counsel, Bal ch & Bi ngham LLP 1901 Sixth Avenue North Sui te 1500 Bi rmi ngham, AL 35203-4642 t : (' ex'.T " 1 f : (205) 488-5669 e : jgarri son@bal c h .corn www.FTcfiTcomcttp": //www.bal c h .com> CONFIDENTIALITY: This emai1 and any attachments may be confidential and/or privi1eged and are therefore protected agai nst copyi n g , us e, di sclosure or di stri buti o n . If you are not the intended reci pi e n t , pi ease noti fy us immediately by replyi ng to the sender and doubl e del eti ng thi s copy and the reply from your system. Sierra Club v. EPA 18cv3472 NDCA Tier 3/4 ED 002061 00112534-00002