Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt said Wednesday he regrets some of his decisions that have led to complaints about his spending and ethical lapses, but stopped short of apologizing for those decisions, and shifted some the blame to EPA policy and career EPA officials.
“There have been decisions that as I look back, I would not make the same decisions again,” Pruitt said in testimony before the Senate Appropriations Interior-Environment Subcommittee. “I share your concerns about some of these decisions. I want to rectify those going forward.”
But Pruitt said some criticism is “unfounded and exaggerated,” and he continued to blame EPA processes for problems. He also suggested his controversial anti-regulation agenda at the EPA has prompted some of the scrutiny of his actions.
“I knew as I began this process over 16 months ago that the issues would be competitive, there are world views that drive decisions we make at the agency,” Pruitt said. “We are making tough decisions with environmental protection … and that has brought competition and criticism.”
Pruitt said the agency had inappropriate “controls” and legal reviews that facilitated controversial spending decisions, such as paying $43,000 for a secure phone booth in his office without notifying Congress, which violated federal law.
He also said “career law enforcement officials” decided to grant him a 24/7 security detail, which no other EPA administrator had before, a story Democrats on the committee rejected.
“All the documents dispute that,” Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M., countered.
The EPA has spent more than $3 million on Pruitt’s security, and the Washington Post obtained an email that shows that a Trump administration political appointee decided to get Pruitt 24/7 security as he was assuming office.
Don Benton, who served as the EPA’s senior White House adviser in the first weeks of the new administration, emailed agency security officials requesting the extra security as a precautionary measure against expected threats to Pruitt stemming from early controversial Trump administration policy moves, such as rolling back regulations.
Those explanations did not satisfy Democrats, who called Pruitt a “laughing stock” whose tenure has tarnished the EPA’s reputation.
“Your tenure at the EPA is a betrayal of the American people,” said Udall. “You have used your office to enrich yourself at the expense of the American taxpayer.”
Even Republicans had questions, despite their support for his policies, such as replacing the Obama administration’s Waters of the U.S. rule and Clean Power Plan.
“Unfortunately I am concerned that many of the important policy efforts are overshadowed because of a series of issues related to you and your management of the agency,” said Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska. “Instead of being asked on the work you are doing on WOTUS, the Clean Power Plan, or Superfund sites, I am being constantly asked to comment on security, housing and travel. Some of this undoubtedly is a result of the gotcha age we live in today, but I do think there are legitimate questions that need to be answered.”
There are 12 ongoing federal investigations involving Pruitt’s excess spending, his unusual below-market living arrangement, lobbyists planning trips abroad, and the agency giving big pay raises for his favored staff.
Pruitt conceded Wednesday he has set up a legal fund to pay for his defense. He pledged to make public the source of potential donations.
