Senior staff members at the Environmental Protection Agency frequently felt pressured by Scott Pruitt, the administrator, to help in personal matters and obtain special favors for his family, according to interviews with four current and former E.P.A. officials who served as top political aides to Mr. Pruitt.
The officials said that Mr. Pruitt, who “had a clear sense of entitlement,” in the words of one of them, indicated that he expected staff members’ assistance with matters outside the purview of government.
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Kevin Chmielewski, who was Mr. Pruitt’s deputy chief of staff for operations until February, recalled a conversation last year when Mr. Pruitt instructed him and other top aides to “see what you can do” about getting the internship, a highly competitive and prized post in Washington. Ms. Pruitt was selected as an intern last summer.
“We were constantly fielding requests like this, even though this had nothing to do with running the E.P.A.,” Mr. Chmielewski, one of the four political aides, said in an interview.
Jahan Wilcox, Mr. Pruitt’s spokesman, disputed the suggestion that aides played an inappropriate role in securing the internship and that the administrator expected them to help boost his and his family’s standing.
Mr. Chmielewski left the E.P.A. after falling out with Mr. Pruitt, but the three others aides confirmed the internship request, as well as multiple other personal directives from their boss described by Mr. Chmielewski. They said Mr. Pruitt told them that he expected a certain standard of living akin to wealthier Trump cabinet members. The aides felt as if Mr. Pruitt — who is paid about $180,000 a year — saw them as foot soldiers in achieving that lifestyle.
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