One former EPA official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear of retaliation, said that Pruitt remarked that he wanted the larger car because it was similar to ones in which some other Cabinet officials rode. The first year’s lease of the vehicle
cost $10,200, according to federal contracting records.
The records show that the EPA administrator’s office
signed a lease in June on the Suburban, paying more than $300 extra per month for upgrades such as a leather interior, bucket seats in the second row and WiFi and GPS navigation. A representative at the Maryland-based company who provided the lease said the LT model that the EPA requested represents an upgrade from the LS model that is typical on government leases.
The monthly payment on the vehicle is $839, according to the contract.
The head of Pruitt’s security detail, Pasquale “Nino” Perrotta, subsequently approved the addition of Kevlar-like seat covers to the vehicle at a cost of hundreds of dollars, according to one official, on the grounds that it served as a security precaution. Two current EPA officials confirmed both the rental of the Suburban and the seat covers.
“Security decisions are made by EPA’s Protective Service Detail and are similar to security protocol across the federal government,” EPA spokesman Jahan Wilcox said in a statement Tuesday.
Separately, federal records also show that the EPA administrator’s office
awarded another contract last month to a leasing company based in Connecticut for a 2018 Suburban with four-wheel-drive, extra captain’s chairs, a sunroof and GPS navigation. A representative at the company said it doesn’t appear that the agency has taken possession of that vehicle. The representative declined to disclose any additional details on the arrangement, citing government confidentiality agreements.
Meanwhile, the 2014 Chevy Tahoe with four-wheel-drive that was used by Gina McCarthy, Pruitt’s predecessor as EPA administrator, has largely sat idle at the EPA’s headquarters, according to several current and former staffers. The agency
had its lease renewed on Feb. 2, 2017, at a cost of $9,180.
An EPA official on Monday said the agency was looking into the matter.
The decision to customize a larger SUV is the latest instance of Pruitt seeking more elaborate trappings than his predecessors. He currently faces a congressional probe into his repeated use of
first-class travel as well as other matters, such as a
security sweep of his office and the installation of biometric locks. On Monday, the Government Accountability Office concluded that the administrator had
violated federal spending laws by installing a secure phone booth in his office that cost taxpayers roughly $43,000.
