Scott Pruitt spent more than $17,000 of your money by somehow missing 3 separate flights to Morocco
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt, who is allergic to economy class seats on airplanes, spent some $105,000 on first class flights during his first year in office, the EPA has told the House Oversight Committee, as reported by Politico.
Perhaps the most baffling trip of all was a four-day excursion to Morocco in December, where Pruitt somehow missed his connecting flight to Rabat and was forced to stay overnight in Paris, and then missed two additional flights. Total cost of the trip: $17,631, not including what was spent on his 10-person staff. The EPA said the trip was affected by the weather, although that doesn't explain the $500 splurge on a hotel while in Paris.
Additional pricey flights include a trip from Tulsa to New York ($3,330, plus $669 to stay in Manhattan); a trip to Corpus Christi, Texas ($3,900); a trip to Jackson, Mississippi ($3,200); and a trip to Nebraska ($3,610), The Washington Post reports.
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The EPA has defended Pruitt's practices by claiming the "EPA's Protective Service Detail identified specific ongoing threats associated with Administrator Pruitt's travel and shifted his class based on certain security protocols that require him to be near the front of the plane." It was later revealed those threats were primarily people yelling at him in airports.
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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
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