Scott Pruitt wanted to use sirens to cut through traffic. His security chief said no — and got reassigned.

Scott Pruitt has a thing for traveling in style.

Beyond spending thousands on private jet trips, the Environmental Protection Agency head has also tried to flick on a government car's sirens to cut through traffic.

Sources told CBS News that his security detail's lead agent said no in response to Pruitt's request, explaining that sirens are only for emergencies. Special Agent Eric Weese, a 16-year veteran of the EPA, was reassigned two weeks later.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

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.

Sign up

Now, Pruitt has a 24-hour detail led by Pasquale "Nino" Perotta — something an EPA administrator has never had before. Weese didn't want to sign off on first-class flights either, per The New York Times, but after Perotta was installed he confirmed that Pruitt needed to be at the front of the plane because of "specific, ongoing threats" to him and his family.

Pruitt has circled through nearly as many new employees as his boss, President Trump. Four high-ranking officials have left the EPA, the Times reports, after tangling with Pruitt in one way or another. One of the departed officials shut down the idea of Pruitt purchasing a charter aircraft membership, while others raised concerns about other spending and managerial issues. Read more about the departures at The New York Times.