Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt spent some of his first year in office living in a Washington townhouse that is co-owned by the wife of an energy lobbyist, according to a report Thursday.
The EPA and the lobbyist, J. Steven Hart, would not tell ABC News how much Pruitt paid to rent a condo in the townhouse near the U.S. Capitol, though Hart said it was the market rate.
Hart, the CEO of Williams and Jensen, has clients with business relevant to the EPA’s regulatory efforts, including Cheniere Energy Inc. and railroad company Norfolk Southern. Cheniere is the largest natural gas exporter in the U.S.
Hart’s company lobbied on “issues related to the export of liquefied natural gas (LNG) approval of LNG exports and export facilities,” according to its website. The firm also says it lobbies on issues related to the Clean Air Act, which the EPA administers.
Hart is a prominent Republican donor who served in the Justice Department during the Reagan administration. He donated to Pruitt’s campaigns to be attorney general of Oklahoma, according to campaign finance records.
The condo that Pruitt occupied is owned by a company that lists Vicki Hart, the lobbyist’s wife, as an owner. Steven Hart said his wife was not the majority owner of the condo.
Vicki Hart is also a lobbyist, but she does no lobbying before the EPA, her husband said.
Pruitt has faced scrutiny during his tenure over his spending and travel habits.
The EPA inspector general is investigating Pruitt for his use of first-class and military flights and his frequent travel as administrator to his home state of Oklahoma, where he served as attorney general.
The internal watchdog is also probing whether Pruitt broke federal spending laws by using $25,000 in taxpayer money to install a secure phone booth in his office.
