White House first learned about Pruitt controversy from media: report

The White House reportedly first learned of a housing controversy involving Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt through media reports, adding to frustrations in an administration weary from a string of scandals involving Cabinet heads and senior officials. 

A senior White House official told CNN that staffers did not hear from Pruitt ahead of media scrutiny regarding his previous living arrangement on Capitol Hill.

Pruitt rented a luxury condo just blocks from the Capitol last summer — that was co-owned by the wife of a top energy lobbyist who previously contributed and fundraised for Pruitt’s political campaigns in Oklahoma — for $50 a night, a price well below market average.{mosads}

Vicki and Steven Hart, who have lobbied the EPA on behalf of an energy company in Oklahoma, rented the two-bedroom unit to Pruitt for a total of $6,100 over six months, reportedly charging him only for his bedroom on the nights he stayed there. 

Pruitt’s daughter also reportedly stayed in the condo for a three-month stretch while she interned in the White House, but it remains unclear what she paid in rent during her stay. 

The controversy over Pruitt’s living arrangement follows scandals over Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson paying $31,000 last year on a new dining room set and accusations that Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin, who has since been fired, misused taxpayer money to pay for sightseeing trips.