The EPA has said the expensive flights were necessary because of the high number of security threats Administrator Scott Pruitt has received. | J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo Pruitt spent over $105,000 on first-class flights

EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt spent more than $105,000 on first-class flights in his first year on the job, according to records EPA provided to the House Oversight Committee and obtained by POLITICO on Tuesday.

Pruitt has drawn criticism for regularly booking first-class flights rather than the coach tickets recommended by EPA protocol. The agency has said the expensive flights were necessary because of the high number of security threats Pruitt has received.


That $105,000 figure doesn't include an additional $58,000 Pruitt rang up on charter flights and a military jet to carry him and his staff from an event with President Donald Trump in Cincinnati to catch a connecting flight to Europe out of New York, according to previously released records.

The most expensive airfare listed in the new documents was a $16,217 trip in December to Morocco, where Pruitt touted American natural gas exports. Pruitt missed a connecting flight and stayed overnight in Paris, and appears to have missed two flights to Morocco before flying to Rabat on Dec. 11. He left the country two days later.

The travel information also shows Pruitt originally intended to travel to Australia from Aug. 31 through Sept. 8 to “discuss best practices regarding the environmental operations” within the country. But that trip, to Sydney and Melbourne, was eventually scrapped.

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In a letter to Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), chairman of the committee, EPA said Pruitt and his family have been the targets of direct and implied threats.

The agency has approved the first-class flights “on an individualized basis,” the letter said.

“[As] the letter explains, EPA’s Protective Service Detail identified specific ongoing threats associated with Administrator Pruitt’s travel and shifted his class based on certain security protocols that require him to be near the front of the plane,” EPA spokesman Jahan Wilcox said.

The committee, which requested the documents a month ago, said it is “in the process of reviewing and evaluating the documents and information,” which will determine its next steps.