One of Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt's close aids is resigning from her post as senior counsel and associate administrator in the Office of Policy.
Samantha Dravis told CBS News she is "enormously grateful" for having worked at the federal agency.
"It has been an honor to serve in this role at EPA, and I am enormously grateful for the opportunity," she said. "I wish Administrator Pruitt and all of the public servants at EPA the very best."
EPA spokeswoman Liz Bowman told Politico, "After serving for over a year as EPA's head of policy, Samantha Dravis has decided to pursue other opportunities. She has been integral in the agency's successful implementation of the president's environmental agenda and the agency wishes her success in her future endeavors."
Dravis' departure comes at a tenuous time for Pruitt as he tries to recover from allegations that he violated ethics laws by renting a room in a home tied to a lobbyist, spending taxpayer money on first and business class travel, and granting two EPA officials substantial pay raises.
Pruitt denied doing anything wrong and said when he learned about the pay raises this week, he stopped them from happening.