Feb 21, 2018

Gowdy seeks answers from Pruitt over frequent first-class flights

Republican Rep. Trey Gowdy. Photo: Drew Angerer / Getty Images

House Oversight Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) has written a letter to Environmental Protection Agency head Scott Pruitt, seeking answers about his frequent first-class travel that has been publicly scrutinized, the Washington Examiner reports.

Why it matters: Concerns from the outgoing South Carolina congressman signal that the questions surrounding Pruitt's travel expenditures are extending beyond Democratic criticism and into an actual GOP-led inquiry. Amid the scrutiny, Pruitt recently blamed the "very toxic environment politically" and security decisions for his expensive flights.

The details: Gowdy wants to know how many times the EPA head has flown first class over the last year, whether the EPA granted him a waiver for the flights and whether employees and security staff at the agency traveled first class as well. He is also inquiring about the airfare of such flights, the Examiner reports.

Go deeper: The Trump officials caught splurging on luxury travel

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Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

President Trump added more pressure Friday night on China-based TikTok parent ByteDance to exit the U.S., ordering it to divest all assets related to the U.S. operation of TikTok within 90 days.

Between the lines: The order means ByteDance must be wholly disentangled from TikTok in the U.S. by November. Trump had previously ordered TikTok banned if ByteDance hadn't struck a deal within 45 days. The new order likely means ByteDance has just another 45 days after that to fully close the deal, one White House source told Axios.

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Harris: "Women are going to be a priority" in Biden administration

Sen. Kamala Harris at an event in Wilmington, Del. Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

In her first sit-down interview since being named Joe Biden's running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris talked about what she'll do to fight for women if elected VP, and how the Democrats are thinking about voter turnout strategies ahead of November.

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