EPA Watchdog finds that former Chief Scott Pruitt spent $ 124,000 for an "excessive" air ticket: NPR

Scott Pruitt, the former head of the Environmental Protection Agency, and his staff spent about $ 124,000 in excessive travel expenses over a 10-month period, according to a new report from the country's internal monitoring body. EPA.

Pruitt, who resigned from the EPA nearly a year ago amid a litany of allegations of ethics, said the details of his safety personal flew for the first or business class "without sufficient justification and, initially, without proper approval authorization".

The Office of the Inspector General of the EPA has recommended that the agency consider recovering the estimated excessive costs of $ 123,942.

In a statement, the EPA said it felt it complied with federal travel regulations, "making cost recovery inappropriate."

The audit examined 40 trips, six of which were canceled, that Pruitt had planned or undertaken in 2017. Nearly half of these trips were made or were due to travel to Tulsa, Oklahoma, where Pruitt retained a personal residence while He was the main person responsible for protecting the country's environment. . The report found "missing detailed support" for some of these trips.

The trip made during this ten-month period cost taxpayers nearly $ 1 million.

Pruitt's 24-hour security services consumed most of this money. During a previous audit, the EPA's Inspector General had found that the agency was spending twice as much to protect Pruitt as its predecessor.

EPA and Pruitt, who are now working as consultants for coal companies, said these protections were necessary because of personal threats against the former administrator.

During his 16 months at the helm of the EPA, Pruitt's security costs, travel and other actions sparked criticism from his predecessors, Democrats, environmental groups and even Republican lawmakers.

The Inspector General of the EPA said that the office had received numerous requests from Congress and complaints regarding the telephone assistance service regarding Pruitt's trip. The new report is the result of these.

In addition to first-class travel, the audit found that accommodation costs also exceeded daily allowances during certain Pruitt trips. There were also inaccurate or incomplete reports for international travel.

Pruitt is not the first member of the Trump administration to be questioned about his trip to the taxpayer fund.

Tom Price, the former head of the US Department of Health and Human Services, violated federal rules on the use of chartered and military aircraft for government travel. Price resigned in the midst of a controversy over it, while President Trump complained of "disliking the optics" of using taxpayer-funded charter flights .

A report by the inspector general of the Interior Ministry revealed that former Secretary of the Interior, Ryan Zinke, had violated the agency's travel policy. by traveling his wife in government vehicles.

The EPA Watchdog says actions are needed to tighten the agency's travel controls to "prevent fraud, waste, and abuse."