Transcript for EPA chief Scott Pruitt facing new ethics questions

Victor, thank you. Now to politics, and the controversy surrounding Scott Pruitt. This time over an apartment he rented from the wife of a top energy lobbyist. Pruitt is already under fire for lavish travel spending. A senior white house official calling developments, quote, beyond frustrating. And tonight, ABC news has learned a member of Pruitt's security detail had to break into that department when they couldn't reach him. ABC's Mary Bruce with the new details. Reporter: Tonight, the white house is facing new questions about EPA administrator Scott Pruitt, already under scrutiny for lavish said. ING. This appears to be way, way over the line. I mean, ethical blindness taken to the next degree, and I wish it were a surprise, but it's not. Reporter: When he first moved to Washington, Pruitt lived in this apartment. The owner? The wife of a personal friend. The wife of a top energy lobbyist who has multiple clients doing business with the EPA. Pruitt reportedly paid $50 dollars a night to rent only one room, in this two-bedroom apartment, far under market-value. Similar apartments go for $6,000 a month, but sources tell ABC news he used the entire unit. And that his daughter, a white house intern at the time, lived in the other bedroom, free of charge. In a statement, the EPA's senior ethics official says she did not "Conclude that this is a prohibited gift at all. It was a routine business transaction and permissible even if from a personal friend." And the lobbyist tells us he has had no direct contact with the EPA. And now ABC news has learned of this bizarre incident at the apartment last year. I need an ambulance please. Reporter: An urgent 911 call. They say he's unconscious and unresponsive. Reporter: Pruitt details breaking down the door. Inside, the cabinet secretary unresponsive. Three medics to respond. Reporter: Sources tell us Pruitt was just napping. For weeks, Pruitt has been under fire for his lavish travel habits. Since taking office, he has spent $118,000 on mostly first class travel. A grinning Pruitt stepped off this military charter in new York on his way to catch a flight to Rome. Red carpet and all. And Mary joins us now from outside that apartment building. And Mary, taxpayers are going to have to cover the repair to that door. Could this be a breaking point for Pruitt? Reporter: The EPA has had to pay back the cost of this knocked down door, and we have heard from one top white house official who is clearly frustrated with these growing questions about Pruitt suggesting this could put a target on his back, but we also know that Pruitt is one of the president's favorites and tonight, so far, no word of what trump make of these growing questions, Tom. We have to wait and see. Mary Bruce, thank you. Next to the mounting

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