Guarding EPA's Pruitt Costs Millions as He Wreaks Havoc on Environment

The cost of protecting Scott Pruitt, the EPA dirtbag administrator who is carrying out Trump's policies of dismantling protections of our environment, totals nearly $3.5 million over the past year.

That amount has paid for the salaries ($2,726,719) of 19 agents who protect Pruitt around the clock plus more than $763,000 on travel for Pruitt's detail, which accompanied him to Morocco and Italy, as well as to his Oklahoma home and personal events, like the Rose Bowl and Disneyland.

This report from CNN Politics notes those costs far exceed the cost of protecting his predecessors over the past nine years. Pruitt's security costs are about double what was spent the prior year, when salary costs were $1.4 million, and travel costs for the security detail reached $312,000.

I don't know about you, but I object to my tax dollars being paid to protect Pruitt, who was imbedded by Trump into the EPA to pretty much destroy it. He has set about, diligently, in doing just that.

Many other Americans also object as is evident in the hostile way Pruitt is treated when he travels, so hostile, in fact, that the EPA says he must fly first class to keep him away from the riffraff who don't like his efforts to eliminate protections for clean air and clean water.

Here's how EPA explains it:

"Administrator Pruitt has faced an unprecedented amount of death threats against him and to provide transparency EPA will post the costs of his security detail and pro-actively release these numbers on a quarterly basis," EPA spokesman Jahan Wilcox said in a statement. "Americans should all agree that members of the President's cabinet should be kept safe from violent threats."

Well, CNN reports that many members of Congress question just how serious those "death" threats might be, noting that many come from social media postings and comments from fellow passengers.

In another article last month, CNN reported that Pruitt's moves -- some of which have been challenged in court -- represent an attempt to fundamentally restructure the EPA's role in Washington, and are a sharp rebuke of the environmental legacy of former President Barack Obama.

Some of Pruitt's key moves include:

• Pretending the dangers of climate change do not exist.

• Rolling back car emissions standards.

• Proposing to overhaul initiatives on coal ash.

• Withdrawing regulations on 'major sources' of pollution.

• Suspending the clean water rule.

• Withdrawing from the Clean Power Plan.

• Trying to suspend Obama-era methane rule.

• Encouraging Trump to withdraw US from Paris climate accord.

For more details on each of those points, please click here.

I think they should give him one security agent and that the agent and Pruitt should be required to fly in coach as do most of the taxpayers who pay for their salaries and their travel expenses.

Thought Trump was going to empty the swamp? From my point of view, he's simply replaced Obama's people with a bunch of rats, Pruitt at the head of the pack.

#ScottPruitt #securitydetails #JahanWilcox #CNNPolitics