EPA Inspector General Report finds massive waste from Trump's Pruitt flying business class, staying in swanky hotels

Trump's initial appointee to run the EPA was Scott Pruitt, who resigned in disgrace in 2018 amid a massive corruption scandal in which he was found to have spent lavishly and assigned improper personal duties to government employees.

The EPA's Office of the Inspector General has published the results of a long investigation into Pruitt's spending, finding that he bilked the taxpayer out of nearly a million dollars by breaking government rules on flying business class, staying in fancy hotels, and flying expensive itineraries that included personal stops in Pruitt's hometown of Tulsa.

Pruitt was succeeded by coal lobbyist Andrew Wheeler in early 2019.

The OIG identified 40 trips and $985,037 in costs associated with the former Administrators travel for the 10-month period from March 1, 2017, to December 31, 2017. This covered 34 completed and six canceled trips and included costs incurred not only by the former Administrator but by his Protective Service Detail (PSD) and other staff. Of the 40 trips,16 includedtravel to, or had stops in, Tulsa, Oklahomathe location of the former Administrators personal residence.

We estimated excessive costs of $123,942 regarding the former Administrators and accompanying PSD agents use of first/business-class travel because the exception that allowed for the travel accommodation was granted withoutsufficient justification and, initially, without appropriate approval authority.

Although the EPAs travel policy is sufficiently designed to prevent fraud, waste and abuse and is consistent with the Federal Travel Regulation, we found that the policy did not initially outline who had the authority to approve theAdministrators travel authorizations and vouchers.