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This story was originally published by HuffPost and is shared here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration.
Former Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt and his staff racked up nearly $124,000 in “excessive” travel costs, according to a lengthy report issued Thursday by the agency’s internal watchdog.
Investigators looked into 40 trips that Pruitt took or scheduled over a 10-month period in 2017, which cost taxpayers nearly $1 million, and found $123,942 in wasteful spending. Those improper travel costs included flying first- and business-class and luxury hotel accommodations.
“Actions need to be taken to strengthen controls over Administrator travel to help prevent the potential for fraud, waste and abuse,” the EPA’s Office of Inspector General wrote in the 84-page report.
Pruitt resigned in July 2018 under a cloud of ethics scandals. He faced at least 18 federal investigations.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
