Dems ask Pruitt to justify first-class flights

House Democrats are investigating Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt’s frequent premium-class travel for official business.

Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (N.J.), top Democrat on the Energy and Commerce Committee, asked Pruitt in a Tuesday letter for various details about all of the first- or business-class flights he has taken on taxpayer dime, the justifications for the flights and which staffers were involved in the process.

“Americans deserve an EPA Administrator more dedicated to first-class protection of human health and the environment than to luxury travel at taxpayer expense,” Pallone wrote along with Reps. Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.) and Diana DeGette (D-Colo.).

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“To date, your Agency has failed to provide a clear explanation as to whether your travel since becoming administrator complies with all applicable federal regulations and agency procedures,” they said.

The letter came after a week of intense scrutiny into Pruitt’s travel habits and news reports about his frequent first- and business-class flights, which have cost taxpayers thousands upon thousands of dollars.

Federal employees are normally limited to flying coach. But the EPA has justified the more expensive arrangements on security grounds, saying that Pruitt has had vulgar run-ins at airports, like a person yelling “you’re f–king up the environment.”

The EPA said at one point last week that Pruitt had a “blanket waiver” to federal rules regarding first-class flights. But such a waiver is prohibited, and the EPA later walked back the statement.