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Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin

(107,097 posts)
Tue May 22, 2018, 09:03 PM May 2018

Pruitt spent at least $9,600 on office decor, desks: email

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) head Scott Pruitt spent at least $9,600 to decorate his personal office with Smithsonian artwork, a refurbished desk and other framed items, according to an internal document obtained by The Hill on Tuesday.

EPA paid the Smithsonian Institution $1,950 for labor and delivery charges on three pieces of artwork loaned to Pruitt’s executive office suite and spent over $2,500 to frame items that included a photo of him with President Trump and an American flag. Additionally, the document confirms earlier reports that agency officials paid $2,963 for a standing “captain’s” desk and another $2,075 to refurbish another office desk for the administrator.

The costs were tallied in an email sent to an EPA staffer in the general counsel’s office last week that was labeled “expenses.”

The Smithsonian doesn’t charge federal agencies to rent items. The costs for the three paintings — one by William Louis Sonntag Sr., the others being portraits of Founding Fathers John Marshall and James Monroe — were for labor and delivery.


The Smithsonian did not respond to a request for comment. The institution confirmed to The New Republic last month that Pruitt is borrowing the works and said that it does not charge rent to federal agencies, but did not mention the labor and delivery costs.

Federal agencies and presidents routinely rent works of art from the Smithsonian.

The expenses listed for Pruitt appear to surpass the $5,000 limit set by Congress for redecoration costs. When the costs exceed that amount, an agency must notify lawmakers first.

http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/388895-pruitt-spent-at-least-9600-on-office-decor-restored-desks-email?userid=229233

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