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NEW: Former Pruitt aide alleges litany of wasteful spending, extravagant travel by EPA chief. (The list stretches for pages). w/@eilperin
Energy and Environment
Former Pruitt aide alleges litany of wasteful spending, extravagant travel by EPA chief
By Brady Dennis and Juliet Eilperin April 12 at 12:04 PM
brady.dennis@washpost.com; juliet.eilperin@washpost.com
A former senior aide to Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt has detailed what he calls a long list of wasteful spending and unethical behavior on behalf of Pruitt to congressional investigators, according to a letter signed Thursday by Democrats in both houses of Congress. ... Kevin Chmielewski, a former Trump campaign aide who until recently served as deputy chief of staff for operations to Pruitt, told congressional staffers that Pruitt routinely pushed for unjustified expenditures on his travel, lodging and changes to his office, and that he marginalized employees who questioned his directives.
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Many of Chmielewski’s assertions have previously been reported, but his allegations against Pruitt — which stretch on for several pages — offer a firsthand accounting of what he saw behind closed doors at EPA.
Chmielewski claims that Pruitt often chose travel destinations based on a desire to visit particular cities or countries rather than official business, according to the letter. He said Pruitt also directed staffers to book flights on Delta, even when it was “not the federal government’s contract carrier for the route,” in order to accrue more frequent flier miles. He also said Pruitt routinely asked his staff to “find reasons” for the administrator to travel to Oklahoma, so that he could then remain in his home state for long weekends, often at taxpayer expense.
In addition, Chmielewski claimed that Pruitt “frequently stayed in hotels that exceeded the allowable U.S. government per diem,” and that while planning trips to Italy and Australia — the latter trip was canceled — Pruitt refused to stay at hotels recommended by the U.S. Embassy, even though the hotels suggested by embassy officials “had law enforcement and other U.S. resources on site.”
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Brady Dennis is a national reporter for The Washington Post, focusing on the environment and public health issues. He previously spent years covering the nation’s economy. Dennis was a finalist for the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for a series of explanatory stories about the global financial crisis. Follow
@brady_dennis
Juliet Eilperin is The Washington Post's senior national affairs correspondent, covering how the new administration is transforming a range of U.S. policies and the federal government itself. She is the author of two books — one on sharks and another on Congress, not to be confused with each other — and has worked for The Post since 1998. Follow
@eilperin
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