
However in March, " a Study in the Washington Free of Charge Beacon claimed that EPA appointees of President Barackobama had expenses which matched or surpassed Pruitt's.
But Trump, who is personally fond of Pruitt and sees him as a crucial ally in his effort to roll back environmental rules, has resisted firing him, disregarding warnings that the drumbeat of negative headlines about the administrator has grown unsustainable, and that more embarrassing revelations could surface.
The official, who asked for anonymity to discuss internal administration matters, said that the president had also reviewed the lease documents for a bedroom in a Capitol Hill condominium that Pruitt had rented from a lobbyist past year. They come as Pruitt fends off allegations of profligate spending and ethical missteps.
In August, the EPA's inspector general began investigating a number of expensive, taxpayer-funded trips Pruitt took.
In recent days, Trump has appeared determined to do things his own way, and he has conducted a purge of people in his administration who had clashed with him, including Rex Tillerson, the secretary of state, and Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, the national security adviser whose last day at the White House was Friday.
White Home Chief of Employees John Kelly within the Oval workplace as President Donald Trump signed the tax reform invoice into legislation, December 22, 2017 in Washington, DC.
Pruitt also has championed budget cuts and staff reductions at the agency so deep that even Republican budget hawks in Congress won't implement them.
More news: Mexican Government Says US National Guard At Border Won't Be ArmedBut other sources within EPA and documents released through public information requests help provide a window into the ballooning costs. The security is eating up so many resources that it's preventing EPA investigators from doing their jobs.
Nonetheless, Pruitt still has his fans, including Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island.
Pruitt's predecessor, Gina McCarthy, needed a safety detail which numbered approximately a halfdozen, significantly less than a third the magnitude of Pruitt's. She flew coach and was not accompanied by security during her off hours.
Perrotta's biography, on the website of his company, Sequoia Security Group, says that during his earlier stint with the Secret Service he worked with the Guardia di Finanza, the Italian finance police.
And speaking of Pruitt's security, the EPA director has also installed a soundproof phone booth in his office that cost close to $43,000, had biometric locks put in his office that cost over $5,000 and had his office swept for concealed listening devices for $3,000. He also said his living arrangement was approved by an EPA ethics official. But Pruitt got an ornate refurbished desk comparable in grandeur to the one in the Oval Office.
On Thursday, a coalition of 64 House Democrats called for Pruitt's resignation.
The prior head of Pruitt's security detail, Eric Weese, was demoted past year after he refused Pruitt's demand to use the lights and sirens on his government-owned SUV to get him through Washington traffic to the airport and dinner reservations.
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