Schimel, Pruitt, numismatic misfits

EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt and WI AG Brad Schimel have more in common than right-wing GP allegiances, and servitude to special interests' preferences for greenhouse gases and dirty water.

Commemorative coins!

Schimel had his "Kicking Ass Every Day" medallions stamped out at taxpayer expense for lucky recipients.

The 1.75-inch gold-plated brass souvenirs read "Wisconsin Attorney General Brad D. Schimel" on one side and "Wisconsin Department of Justice: K.A.E.D." on the other. The state seal appears on the medallions.

Records show the state Department of Justice paid nearly $10,000 in taxpayer dollars — $4.75 each, plus other costs — to Lexington Metal Products Corp. in Lithia, Fla., for two shipments of the commemorative coins, which they received over the past 1 1/2 years. Schimel, a first-term Republican, announced recently that he is running for a second term.

Now Pruitt's got the same idea.

The embattled EPA chief wanted the agency's "challenge coin," a commemorative medal used as a sign of one's allegiance, to increase in size, bear his name in large letters around the rim and do away with the EPA logo featured on the current design, The New York Times reported on Wednesday.

Pruitt's ideas for a redesign, which he floated to EPA employees during his first few months in office, sought to include symbols that represent himself, including a buffalo to denote his home state of Oklahoma and a Bible verse to represent his faith, according to the [New York] Times.