EPA chief Scott Pruitt spent $58,000 on publicly funded private flights
President Trump told reporters Wednesday that he is "not happy" about Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price's liberal use of chartered aircraft, at a cost of $400,000 to taxpayers, "and I let him know it."
The reports of Price's 26 private flights prompted the House Oversight Committee to launch an inquiry Wednesday into all travel by senior Trump administration officials. So far Trump is reportedly "less perturbed" by reports of questionable public spending by EPA chief Scott Pruitt and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, The New York Times reports. But on top of spending $25,000 for a soundproof phone booth in his office, Pruitt also has spent more than $58,000 on private and military flights, The Washington Post reported Wednesday night.
Pruitt was already under scrutiny by the EPA inspector general for his frequent travels to Oklahoma, and one of the chartered flights, a $14,435 hop from Tulsa to tiny Guymon to discuss a water rule he wants to scrap, was in his home state. The most expensive, at $36,068, was to fly Pruitt from a Trump speech in Cincinnati to New York so Pruitt could make his flight to Rome for a meeting at the Vatican. The EPA said Pruitt usually flies commercial, though EPA records show that when he does, he and his security detail fly first or business class whenever possible because Pruitt "is entitled to business class accommodation due to security concerns." You can read more about his high-flying at The Washington Post.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
'A speaker courageous enough to stand up to the extremists in his own party'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
How could the Supreme Court's Fischer v. US case impact the other Jan 6. trials including Trump's?
Today's Big Question A former Pennsylvania cop might hold the key to a major upheaval in how the courts treat the Capitol riot — and its alleged instigator
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Today's political cartoons - April 18, 2024
Cartoons Thursday's cartoons - impeachment Peanuts, record-breaking temperatures, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Puffed rice and yoga: inside the collapsed tunnel where Indian workers await rescue
Speed Read Workers trapped in collapsed tunnel are suffering from dysentery and anxiety over their rescue
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
More than 2,000 dead following massive earthquake in Morocco
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Mexico's next president will almost certainly be its 1st female president
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
North Korea's Kim to visit Putin in eastern Russia to discuss arms sales for Ukraine war, U.S. says
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Gabon's military leader sworn in following coup in latest African uprising
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstances
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governor
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published