Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt testifies before the House Energy and Commerce Committee about the mission of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on December 7, 2017 in Washington, DC.  (Pete Marovich/Getty Images)
Troubles mount for Trump's EPA chief
02:14 - Source: CNN
Washington CNN  — 

It’s rare in Donald Trump’s Washington for anyone to outshine the President. And usually when you do, it spells bad news for your job security.

Enter Scott Pruitt.

The head of the Environmental Protection Agency was, as of this writing, clinging to his job amid a week of horrific headlines not seen since the last Trump Cabinet official – David Shulkin at Veterans Affairs – was fired.

Pruitt’s inability to stay out of the headlines led to a series of tepid quotes from Trump and White House press secretary Sarah Sanders about his future job prospects. Trump met with the controversy-ridden agency head on Friday, a senior White House official confirmed to CNN.

As of this writing, Pruitt still has a job. But walk through the major headlines of the week (below) and you’ll see why White House observers wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t survive the weekend.

The Point: Bad headlines are usually a recipe for disaster for anyone not named Trump in the Trump administration. Pruitt has somehow escaped the ax, for now.

Monday:

Tuesday:

Wednesday:

Thursday:

Friday: