Scott Pruitt’s Soundproof Phone Booth to Be Probed by EPA Watchdog

Scott Pruitt, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.

Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
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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.