Pruitt's Soundproof Phone Booth to Be Probed by EPA Watchdog

(Bloomberg) -- The Environmental Protection Agency’s inspector general said it would probe whether the EPA ran afoul of federal spending laws in ordering up a $25,000 soundproof "privacy booth" for Administrator Scott Pruitt, custom-built to prevent eavesdropping on his conversations.

The installation of the booth raises questions about "why such equipment is needed and what types of conversations Administrator Pruitt is having that would warrant a private soundproof booth," Frank Pallone, a New Jersey Democrat, and other lawmakers said in an October letter asking for the probe.

But congressional Democrats shouldn’t hold their breath waiting for the IG’s results.

"As you know, we have numerous other pending matters," Inspector General Arthur A. Elkins Jr. wrote, "and are not sure when we can begin this engagement."

To contact the reporter on this story: Jennifer A. Dlouhy in Washington at jdlouhy1@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Jon Morgan at jmorgan97@bloomberg.net, Mark Drajem, Elizabeth Wasserman

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