Pruitt used security detail to pick up dry cleaning, lotion
WASHINGTON — Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt asked members of his 24/7 security detail to run errands for him on occasion, including picking up his dry cleaning and taking him in search of a favorite moisturizing lotion, according to two people familiar with those trips who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Mr. Pruitt, who also has enlisted agency staff in tasks including apartment hunting and securing a mattress for his personal use, faces congressional scrutiny over an expanding number of spending and management decisions. Federal rules bar public officials from receiving gifts from subordinates, including unpaid services, and from using their office for private gain.
Asked about errands his security detail ran on his behalf, the EPA issued a brief statement Thursday. “Administrator Pruitt follows the same security protocol whether he’s in his personal or official capacity,” spokeswoman Kelsi Daniell said.
As EPA chief, Mr. Pruitt has received round-theclock protection since he took office in February 2017. While he and his aides have said such coverage stemmed from the unprecedented amount of threats he has faced — including a group that this week tweeted out his home address in Tulsa, Okla. — a recent letter from the EPA’s Office of Inspector General and emails obtained by The Washington Post indicate that a Trump appointee initially provided greater protection out of concern that the president’s controversial policies could spark a public backlash.
For the same reason, EPA staffers have said, Mr. Pruitt switched to flying first class after a person approached him in an airport last year and used vulgar language. The administrator said he left decisions about his protective detail to his security agents, though he returned to flying coach this year.
The protective detail cost taxpayers nearly $3.5 million during Mr. Pruitt’s first year on the job, according to EPA data, and is roughly triple the size of those of his immediate predecessors.
While EPA security agents are required to protect Mr. Pruitt at all times — both while he is working and during his off hours — the two individuals said the administrator had asked members of the detail to perform tasks beyond their primary function. In one instance, they said, he directed agents to drive him to multiple locations in search of a particular lotion on offer at Ritz-Carlton hotels.
One other occasions, they added, he asked agents to pick up his dry cleaning without him.
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