Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt spent nearly $3,000 on “tactical pants” and “tactical polos,” according to new disclosures cited Wednesday by The Intercept.
Records obtained by the outlet through the Freedom of Information Act show that Pruitt spent $2,749.62 on the clothing items as part of his security expenditures.
The disclosures showed that Pruitt spent a $288,610 on various security items, bringing the total amount of public money Pruitt has spent on security items to $4.6 million.
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The amount marks a $1.1 million increase from the administrator’s security costs from last month, according to the outlet.
The director of the EPA’s Office of Criminal Enforcement, Forensics, and Training, Henry Barnet, told The Hill that the purchases were routine for the department’s security personnel.
“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,” Barnet said in a statement.
An EPA spokesperson told The Hill that the expenditures were part of the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA) and Office of Criminal Enforcement, Forensics, and Training (OCEFT) budgets.
Pruitt has faced backlash in recent months for his spending habits using taxpayer dollars.
Reports and accusations against Pruitt include that he rented a condo from a lobbyist for just $50 for each night he spent there, spent $43,000 on a soundproof booth for his office, spent $3.5 million on a security detail and had aides or security staff perform personal tasks like assisting his wife in finding a job and trying to find a used mattress from the Trump International Hotel.
Pruitt is set to testify before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee in August.
Despite the public backlash against Pruitt, President Trump has offered praise for the agency head.
“Thank you Scott, very much. EPA is doing really, really well,” Trump said earlier this month. “Somebody has to say that about you a little bit, you know that, Scott.”