--- title: Report: Scott Pruitt Spent $68,000 on Seven Months of Travel description: Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt reportedly racked up $68,000 in first-class travel expenses since last August canonical: https://time.com/5208520/epa-scott-pruitt-travel-expense-congress/ author: Laignee Barron article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-03-21T06:39:51.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:53:32.230Z article:section: Politics og:title: Report: Scott Pruitt Spent $68,000 on Seven Months of Travel og:description: Security advisers have suggested he fly first class due to threats against him og:url: https://time.com/5208520/epa-scott-pruitt-travel-expense-congress/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0b0068f0cecbcb1a/69892b80fb4eac660989615c/gettyimages-801995998.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4404 og:image:height: 2477 og:image:alt: US-POLITICS-CONGRESS-EPA-BUDGET og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Report: Scott Pruitt Spent $68,000 on Seven Months of Travel twitter:description: Security advisers have suggested he fly first class due to threats against him twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0b0068f0cecbcb1a/69892b80fb4eac660989615c/gettyimages-801995998.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # EPA Chief Scott Pruitt Spent Almost $68,000 on Seven Months of Travel, Report Says > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: Scott Pruitt's EPA [Watch (HLS stream): Scott Pruitt's EPA](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/kwozIrQS.m3u8) (3:14)  _Published 2017-10-26. TIME's Justin Worland sits down with Scott Pruitt of the EPA_ by [Laignee Barron](https://time.com/author/laignee-barron/) ## Laignee Barron Mar 21, 2018 6:39 AM UTC  EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt testifies about the fiscal year 2018 budget in Washington, DC, on June 27, 2017. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt testifies about the fiscal year 2018 budget in Washington, DC, on June 27, 2017. Saul Loeb—AFP/Getty Images by [Laignee Barron](https://time.com/author/laignee-barron/) ## Laignee Barron Mar 21, 2018 6:39 AM UTC Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt racked up almost $68,000 in [first-class and other travel expenses](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2018/03/20/new-documents-show-nearly-68000-in-recent-premium-flights-hotel-stays-for-epas-pruitt/?utm%5Fterm=.19e2b189cf15) since last August, documents submitted to Congress and obtained by the Washington _Post_ revealed. The expense sheet includes dozens of first class flights — both domestic and overseas — as well as costly stays at hotels in Paris, New York City and Morocco. The figure does not include additional travel costs for Pruitt’s personal security detail. Accounting for the documents submitted to Congress, the EPA cited additional security protocols in place for Pruitt, who has received numerous threats since taking office in Feb. 2017. Pruitt’s chief security official reportedly advised the administrator to [fly first class](http://time.com/5162986/scott-pruitt-airport-altercation-first-class/?iid=sr-link4) to separate himself from the general public. This is not the first time Pruitt’s expenses have caused a stir. Redesigns at the EPA headquarters have raised eyebrows, including the installation of a $25,000 [soundproof phone booth](http://time.com/4963373/tom-price-private-flights-donald-trump-promises/?iid=sr-link8) in Pruitt’s office, according to the _Post_. In June 2017, Pruitt and his aides spent $120,000 on two weeks of travel, records obtained by the _Post_ and the Environmental Integrity Project show. Over four days in December, Pruitt’s travel vouchers reportedly amounted to $17,631, a sum not inclusive of the additional and undisclosed fees for his security aides. When requesting Pruitt submit records of his travel expenses to prove all trips were in line with federal regulations, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chair Trey Gowdy [noted](https://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/2018-02-20-TG-to-Pruitt-EPA-re-First-Class-Travel-due-3-6.pdf) that a waiver to skip coach class must be submitted for each flight. “Clearly, federal regulations prohibit a blanket waiver to fly first class except to accommodate disabilities or special needs,” he wrote. 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