Scandal-plagued Environmental Protection Agency head Scott Pruitt has spent millions of taxpayers dollars on security, including dropping nearly $3,000 on “tactical pants” and “tactical polos,” according to a report.
Pruitt, who has already come under fire from Democrats and some Republicans for his free-wheeling spending at the agency, spent $228,610 on a number of security items, including a total of $2,749.62 on the “tactical” clothing, the Intercept reported Wednesday, citing Freedom of Information Act records.
“Tactical pants” are modified cargo-style pants with belt loops bolstered to support a gun holster, pockets large enough to hold handcuffs and other equipment, reinforced knees and seats.
Other items purchased include $80,000 worth of radios, $700 for shoulder holsters to carry the radios and $931 for a “breaching kit” that includes items that law enforcement officers use to knock down locked doors.
His security detail in March 2017 contacted the Washington, DC, police department when they couldn’t reach Pruitt in his apartment.
It turned out Pruitt was napping, but not before police and his detail busted through the door and had to pay $2,460 to replace it, the report said.
The disclosures show the EPA spending on security items totaled $4.6 million, eclipsing the amount his predecessor, former EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, spent, the Intercept reported.
The director of the agency’s Office of Criminal Enforcement, Forensics, and Training told The Hill that the purchases are nothing out of the ordinary.
“These are routine expenditures for our Criminal Investigative Division (CID) and Protective Security Detail (PSD) agents to have proper attire for search warrants, arrests, disaster responses, and training. This attire is not used for protection work,” Henry Barnet said in a statement.
Pruitt has come under fire for his ethical lapses, including traveling first-class on airplanes, renting a Capitol Hill condo for $50 a night from a lobbyist, spending $43,000 for a soundproof booth for his office, and using aides for personal tasks like helping his wife find a job and seeking a used mattress from the Trump International Hotel.
He’s expected to testify in August before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, which oversees the EPA.
