EPA Chief Scott Pruitt Resigns

President Donald Trump has announced the resignation of Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt.

In a tweet Thursday afternoon, Trump said he had accepted the resignation of the beleaguered EPA chief.

Environmental Protection Agency administrator Scott Pruitt listens as President Donald Trump speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House, Thursday, June 21, 2018, in Washington D.C.

"Within the agency, Scott has done an outstanding job, and I will always be thankful to him for this,"

said Trump in a tweet.

In recent weeks, Pruitt has come under increasing scrutiny for numerous scandals that include spending behaviors, allegations that he rented a Capitol Hill condominium linked to an energy lobbyist and a CNN report released this week that accuses the chief of using "secret" calendars and schedules to hide controversial meetings with industry players.

Pruitt, who has done much to deregulate many of the Obama-era environmental rules, is also accused of using his sway to secure a six-figure job for his wife.

The agency is under numerous federal probes into its spending, ethics and policy decisions, CNBC reports.

Early in his tenure as EPA chief, Pruitt came under fire for saying carbon dioxide emissions from human activity are not the primary cause of climate change.

Trump tweeted Thursday that EPA deputy Andrew Wheeler would "assume duties as the acting administrator of the EPA."

"I have no doubt that Andy will continue on with our great and lasting EPA agenda,"

the president tweeted.

"We have made tremendous progress and the future of the EPA is very bright!"