Scott Pruitt Warned Against Interviews on Raise Scandal.
KEILAR: Top of the hour now. I'm Brianna Keilar. We begin with the president's mixed messages as the job of one of his top cabinet members appears to be on the line. Moments ago, the president said, "I do," when asked if he has confidence in embattled EPA Chief Scott Pruitt. But a senior official and others say the president wasn't pleased when Pruitt appeared on television appearance intended to calm the controversy over a string of scandals. What's more, a source says Chief of Staff John Kelly warned Pruitt ahead of time not to do any interviews. But Pruitt, instead, went on the defense, responding to reports that he gave huge, unauthorized raises to his favorite aides and he received cheap rent for a D.C. apartment from the wife of an energy lobbyist.</s>ED HENRY, FOX NEWS WHITE HOUSE CORRSPONDENT: President Trump said he would drain the swamp.</s>HENRY: Is draining the swamp renting an apartment from the wife of a Washington lobbyist?</s>SCOTT PRUITT, DIRECTOR, EPA: I don't think that there's even remotely fair to ask that question. It's like an Airbnb situation. The landlord had access to the entirety of the facility. When I was there, I only had access to a room. He uses the facility in common areas at the same time I was there.</s>HENRY: You only paid for the nights you were there?</s>PRUITT: That's exactly right.</s>HENRY: But that's kind of a sweetheart deal because I've never heard of a --</s>PRUITT: No, it's not.</s>HENRY: I've lived in Washington over 25 years and have never heard of a deal like that.</s>PRUITT: That's something, something, that has been reviewed by officials here. They said that it's market rate.</s>KEILAR: Joining me now, CNN chief political correspondent, Dana Bash, and Elaina Plott, one of "the "Atlantic" reporters that broke the story about Pruitt's staff salaries, and CNN political analyst, Josh Green, who is also national correspondent for "Bloomberg Business Week." Dana, a source says there's general confusion about why Pruitt went forward with the interviews. He had actually gotten guidance not just from the White House but John Kelly himself to not to do this and he went ahead and did it. Why would he do that?</s>DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, a couple of things. One is, as you know this from covering the White House, and I know this from covering the White House, that some things, even in the nontraditional Trump White House are pretty standard. And that is when a cabinet secretary gets an interview request, they run it by the White House, as you said. And in this case --