PILING UP

Pruitt Faces Questions on Lobbyists’ Role in Overseas Trips

GOP megadonors and lobbyists are said to have been a driving force in many of the EPA head’s travel plans.

Already under fire over his spending habits, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt faced new questions from Democratic lawmakers Thursday over his use of lobbyists and GOP donors to arrange foreign travel. Sources cited by The Washington Post said Pruitt often makes his travel plans with help from lobbyists and donors who have financial interests in the country Pruitt ultimately ends up visiting. Soon after taking office, Pruitt compiled a list of countries he wanted to visit and asked aides to come up with official reasons for him to travel there, according to four sources cited in the report. Some Democratic lawmakers now want to know more about his canceled trip to Israel in February, which was reportedly arranged with help from casino magnate and GOP megadonor Sheldon Adelson. Separately, CNN reported late Thursday that Pruitt may have flouted Oklahoma campaign-finance rules during his 2010 and 2014 campaigns for attorney general. He reportedly reimbursed himself nearly $65,000 from those two campaigns, but what exactly the purchases entailed—and whether they were legitimate—remains unclear, according to CNN.