Pruitt, who was nominated to the position by US President Donald Trump, has made headlines in the past few months for a number of financial malpractices.
"EPA head Scott Pruitt was 3 tables away as I ate lunch with my child. I had to say something. This man is directly and significantly harming my child's — and every child's — health and future with decisions to roll back environmental regulations for the benefit of big corporations, while he uses taxpayer money to fund a lavish lifestyle," Kristin Mink wrote in a Facebook post accompanying the video of her confronting Pruitt.
"He's corrupt, he's a liar, he's a climate change denier and as a public servant, he should not be able to go out in public without hearing from the citizens he's hurting," she added.
The video begins with Mink telling Pruitt that she "wanted to urge you to resign." She can be seen in the video carrying her two-year-old baby, introduced her to Pruitt and telling him that her child loves animals, breathing clean air, and drinking clean water. Meanwhile, she says, Pruitt is slashing emissions regulations "for the benefit of big corporations."
Mink then proceeds to rail against Pruitt's support for oil pipelines and his exorbitant spending on hotel accommodations in DC. "We deserve to have somebody at the EPA who actually does protect our environment, somebody who actually believes in climate change and takes it seriously, for the benefit of all of us, including our children," she tells him.
"So, I would urge you to resign before your scandals push you out," she says as the video concludes.
According to a written message at the end of the video, Pruitt, his companion and two taxpayer-funded security guards "fled the restaurant" before she returned to her seat three tables away.
Currently, Pruitt is the subject of a baker's dozen of federal investigations, according to the New York Times, the subjects of which range from spending some $43,000 on a soundproof phone booth, the use of 20 people to provide 24-hour security detail, with more than three times as many guards used compared to previous EPA administrators, travel expenses including $120,000 spent in two weeks time, hotel expenses, and more.
"Administrator Pruitt always welcomes input from Americans, whether they agree or disagree with the decisions being made at EPA," agency spokesperson Lincoln Ferguson told USA Today for a Wednesday article. "This is evident by him listening to [Mink's] comments and going on to thank her, which is not shown in the video. His leaving had nothing to do with the confrontation, he had simply finished his meal and needed to get back to EPA for a briefing."
The confrontation is only the latest restaurant fiasco faced by Trump administration officials that the White House has had to play up — or play down.
On June 19, amid national uproar over the separation of immigrant families as a result of Trump's "zero tolerance" policy, activists from the Democratic Socialists of America crashed the dinner of Department of Homeland Security Secretary (DHS) Kirstjen Nielsen while she dined at a Mexican restaurant. Initially, protesters chanted "If kids don't eat in peace, you don't eat in peace," and then "Shame!" as she made her way out.
"While having a work dinner tonight, the secretary and her staff heard from a small group of protesters who share her concern with our current immigration laws that have created a crisis on our southern border," DHS Spokesperson Tyler Q Houlton tweeted that evening.
Days later, the owner of a small Virginia restaurant, the Red Hen, told the Washington Post that on June 22, she politely, and in a direct fashion, asked White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders to leave her establishment, explaining her commitment to "honesty and compassion."
"The Red Hen Restaurant should focus more on cleaning its filthy canopies, doors and windows (badly needs a paint job) rather than refusing to serve a fine person like Sarah Huckabee Sanders," the president tweeted in response. "I always had a rule, if a restaurant is dirty on the outside, it is dirty on the inside!"
Since then, the Lexington restaurant has seen consistent protests outside and vandalism, including manure thrown at it, Sputnik reported.
