Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman John Barrasso rejected a request from Democrats on Tuesday to hold a hearing on Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt’s use of round-the-clock security and his heavy spending on his own protection.
Pruitt is the first EPA administrator to have a 24/7 security detail, prompted by multiple death threats he says he has received. The Associated Press last week reported the EPA has spent about $3 million on his security, including travel and overtime pay for Pruitt’s detail.
The EPA says Pruitt faces “unprecedented” security threats from taunting travelers, which has prompted career security staff to grant him waivers to fly first class.
Democratic Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island and Tom Carper of Delaware sent a letter to Barrasso, R-Wyo., Tuesday morning revealing that they have seen several internal EPA documents, which they are keeping confidential, that found no specific credible security threats to Pruitt.
“It is hard to reconcile the public statements of EPA, and the president, with these internal and external assessments,” the senators said.
Barrasso rejected Democrats’ claims and said the senators acted irresponsibly by releasing the information.
“I am deeply troubled that members of the committee would publicly release law enforcement sensitive information regarding the safety and security of a Cabinet member and his family,” Barrasso said. “This letter selectively quotes non-public documents. Any reasonable reading of these documents supports the Office of the Inspector General’s statements that Administrator Pruitt faces a ‘variety of direct death threats.’ This is exactly why members should not publicly disclose information that relates to the safety of a Cabinet member. It is also why this committee will not hold a hearing on this issue.”
The senators said they obtained internal documents showing the EPA’s Homeland Security Intelligence Team reviewed an October agency memo and found no specific credible threats to Pruitt.
The October memo was created by Pruitt’s security detail, and the EPA used it to justify Pruitt’s large security detail and first-class travel.
Whitehouse and Carper acknowledged the materials they obtained may be incomplete.
“However, another view is that certain factions within EPA have justified the exorbitant taxpayer spending incurred by the administrator’s first-class travel and large entourage of security personnel through unsubstantiated claims about threats to his security, either at the direction of the administrator himself or others in the agency,” they said.
The EPA on Tuesday dismissed Mario Caraballo, the deputy associate administrator of the Office of Homeland Security who approved the internal report that Whitehouse and Carper referred to, as Politico first reported.
The move raised eyebrows because Pruitt is already under fire for personnel decisions.
David J. Apol, acting director of the Office of Government Ethics, has expressed concern to the EPA about Pruitt’s reported punishing of staff who disagreed with him about spending on travel and security.
EPA officials confirmed Caraballo’s dismissal to the Washington Examiner, but said the decision was unrelated to his role with the report.
“The action today was based on a recommendation by the Office of Administration and Resources Management,” Donna Vizian, EPA’s principal deputy assistant administrator, told the Washington Examiner. “I am not aware of any connection between the personnel matter and the document mentioned in media reports.”
[WATCH: Scott Pruitt grilled in tough Fox News interview about controversies]
