Even before he was sworn in as the new administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, former Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt wanted to create an EPA office in Tulsa.
He went so far as to direct staff to looking into the idea, according to U.S. House Democrats who released a letter this week.
“Establishing a new EPA office in Tulsa may be personally convenient for you, but it seems ethically questionable, professionally unnecessary and financially unjustified,” the letter states.
The letter was released by Democratic Reps. Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas, Donald Beyer Jr. of Virginia and Suzanne Bonamici of Oregon who sit on the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology.
They have more questions about Pruitt’s travel expenses and other practices.
The idea of a Tulsa EPA office was suggested by Pruitt to the EPA chief of staff Ryan Jackson who directed staff in January 2017 to locate office space in Tulsa.