Another House Committee Probes EPA Administrator’s First Class Travel

Another lawmaker is asking questions about EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt’s frequent first class trips.

Another House lawmaker is asking EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt for more information on his first class flights. This time it’s House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy (R-SC).

Gowdy sent a letter to Pruitt on February 20 questioning the “blanket waiver” the agency initially said it had given to Pruitt for flying first class.

“Clearly, federal regulations prohibit a blanket waiver to fly first class except to accommodate disabilities or special needs,” wrote Gowdy. “Instead, a waiver for each flight is required in order to fly first or business class when traveling on official government business.”

Gowdy went on to request specific information from Pruitt regarding his trips, such as every flight he took in the past year for official business, including the arriving and departing airports, official agency reason for the trip, and total cost and status of the ticket (i.e. coach or first class).

The House Committee on Energy and Commerce is also looking into Pruitt’s first class travel. Democratic lawmakers sent the EPA Administrator on the same day as Gowdy’s letter in which they were clearly skeptical of the security benefits afforded to Pruitt by flying first class, one of the stated reasons he had been doing so.

Pruitt recently canceled a scheduled trip to Israel as the news about his frequent first class flights was starting to boil over.

A copy of Gowdy’s letter is included below.

2018-02-20 Gowdy Letter to Pruitt Re: First Class Flights

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Ian Smith is one of the co-founders of FedSmith.com. He has over 20 years of combined experience in media and government services, having worked at two government contracting firms and an online news and web development company prior to his current role at FedSmith.