'A betrayal of the American people': Sen. Udall hammers EPA chief Scott Pruitt

William Cummings | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Dem senator mocks Scott Pruitt over expenses Sen. Patrick Leahy grilled EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt for racking up more than $100,000 in expenses on first-class flights, telling him that, "nobody even knows who you are."

Scott Pruitt, President Trump's beleaguered Environmental Protection Agency administrator, faced tough questioning at a Senate hearing Wednesday that included one Democrat calling Pruitt's entire tenure a "betrayal of the American people."

Pruitt's EPA is the subject of about a dozen ethics probes by Congress, the EPA’s inspector general, the Government Accountability Office and the Office of Management of Budget. Among the issues being investigated is Pruitt's $50-a-night Capitol Hill apartment that he rents from an energy lobbyist's wife, Pruitt's first-class travel and his 24-hour security detail.

Pruitt denied direct responsibility for the problems plaguing the agency and deflected blame onto his subordinates.

During his appearance before the Senate appropriations subcommittee, Chairwoman Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, told Pruitt, "I’m being asked, really constantly asked, to comment on security and on housing and on travel. I’m reading about your interactions with representatives of the industries that you regulate."

Some of the toughest questioning came from New Mexico Democrat Tom Udall, a former state attorney general like Pruitt.

"Every day there seems to be a new scandal and you at dead center," Udall told Pruitt. "Your tenure at the EPA is a betrayal of the American people. You have used your office to enrich yourself at the expense of the American taxpayer and public health."

Udall asked Pruitt about Eric Weese, a former member of Pruitt's protection team who says he was demoted because he refused to drive through Washington with the vehicle's lights flashing and siren blaring.

"Let's get the record straight: Did your security detail use sirens while you were in the car for non-emergencies, yes or no?" Udall asked Pruitt. And later he asked Pruitt if he "personally requested that on a number of trips."

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"No, I don’t recall that happening," Pruitt said. "There are policies that agencies follow. The agency has followed the policy to the best of my knowledge. No, I don’t recall."

Udall then produced an email written by then-EPA special agent Pasquale "Nino" Perrotta just days after Pruitt’s confirmation with the subject line "Lights and Sirens." It added "Btw - Administrator encourages the use."

Pruitt later promoted Perrotta to lead his round-the-clock personal protective detail because his predecessor refused to use lights and sirens in non-emergencies, the Associated Press reported.

During the hearing, several protesters lifted up signs bearing Pruitt's image and the caption, "Fire him."

Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., chastised Pruitt for a "seemingly endless stream of controversy at the EPA" and for a "toxic agenda" that "makes America more polluted and less safe."

Leahy referred to emails, first reported by Politico, revealing that Pruitt's EPA and the White House tried to block a federal health study about a multistate water contamination crisis because they feared it would create a "public relations nightmare."

"To block the publication of a public health study on a class of toxic chemicals that threaten water supplies around the country — including in Bennington [Vt.] — that's unconscionable," Leahy told Pruitt.

In another memorable moment Leahy said a Vermonter told him that Pruitt's explanation for flying first class because he was being threatened and harassed in coach was "silly."

"Nobody even knows who you are," Leahy said.

Contributing: The Associated Press

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