Career Officials Raised Concerns About Price Tag For Pruitt Italy Trip

"Career officials at the Environmental Protection Agency raised concerns about then-Administrator Scott Pruitt’s move to book an expensive plane ticket to Italy and the involvement of non-U.S. officials in planning his trip, according to documents obtained by The Washington Post.

Hundreds of pages of new emails the EPA provided in recent weeks to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee shed new light on the extent to which Pruitt’s personal preferences drove travel planning and created friction within the agency before he resigned earlier this month.

The committee’s probe is one of numerous investigations into Pruitt’s ethical and management decisions that have continued even after his departure. On Thursday, Democratic Sens. Thomas Carper (Del.) and Sheldon Whitehouse (R.I.) urged EPA Inspector General Arthur A. Elkins, Jr. “to complete all audits and investigations” into Pruitt’s conduct, citing new evidence to bolster their case."

Juliet Eilperin and Brady Dennis report for the Washington Post July 19, 2018.

Source: Washington Post, 07/20/2018