"EPA: Top Agency Player Entertained Industry Job Options"

"Ryan Jackson was a hot commodity throughout scandal and its aftermath at the Trump administration's EPA.

The former chief of staff entertained job discussions outside EPA several times while he was the top aide to Administrator Andrew Wheeler and his predecessor, Scott Pruitt. Records obtained by E&E News under the Freedom of Information Act show Jackson filed five different notifications of negotiations.

The documents underline how a senior political appointee who built up the Trump EPA's political staff and helped shepherd its regulatory rollbacks was prized by those seeking his services. Most of the names of the "non-federal" entities are redacted in the records, with the agency citing FOIA's privacy exemption.

Jackson, who left EPA earlier this year to join the National Mining Association, said the forms were filed when job offers caught his attention."

Kevin Bogardus reports for E&E News October 26, 2020.

Source: E&E News, 10/27/2020