Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt issued a memo Friday advising agency officials that all of his expenses of more than $5,000 will need to be approved by chief of staff Ryan Jackson, Deputy Administrator Andrew Wheeler and Chief Financial Officer Holly Greaves.
The carefully worded memo, obtained by the Washington Examiner, says those officials, all political appointees, “will have final approval over expenditures by agency personnel over $5,000 made on my behalf to execute my official duties.”
Pruitt in testimony before Congress Thursday vowed to “take responsibility” for various ethics and spending accusations that have imperiled his job, assuring lawmakers he will “make changes,” but blaming the media for reporting “half truths” and saying critics want to derail his deregulatory agenda.
But he downplayed his involvement in the various issues, mostly blaming lower-level employees for decisions he said he did not know about.
Pruitt said there is “no truth” to the reports that some EPA employees have faced retaliation after disagreeing with his spending or management decisions.
He said that Jackson, his chief of staff, authorized massive raises for close aides to Pruitt who used to work for him when he was Oklahoma’s attorney general. The EPA gave the raises after the White House refused to approve them.
Pruitt later said he was aware beforehand that one of the employees would receive a raise, but not the other.
In later questioning, Pruitt similarly said he “did not” know that the EPA failed to notify Congress before it spent $43,000 on a secure phone booth for his office, which the Government Accountability Office said violated federal law.
He said he sought a secure “line” to discuss classified information in his office and delegated to “career staff” on devising a solution to address that.
Pruitt later agreed the spending was excessive, but said he did not approve the purchase. He said he would have stopped the transaction if he knew about it.
The EPA chief, meanwhile, again cited “unprecedented” threats against him for prompting his frequent first-class travel. He says agency security officials suggested he take precautions when flying.
The EPA has spent at least $105,000 on Pruitt’s first-class flights, arguing that he needs to travel away from other passengers because of threats to his safety.
The agency has spent at least $3 million on his security, which includes an around-the-clock detail, and reports that security has gone with him on personal trips to Disney and the Rose Bowl.
