Over the past year reports of secret phone rooms, high-end travel demands, and totalitarian-government-official-level security costs, have steadily flowed through the news. New documents, obtained by The Intercept, get a bit more granular in the spendings of EPA head Pruitt. The Intercept puts his wacky costs north of $4.5 million thus far in his short tenure. Some of the spending goes to things like “radios,” and we all know about the travel costs such a persnickety “God-fearing” man can accrue. But one cost that sticks out as a symbol of the swampy excess we are watching every day, is the “$2,749.62 on ‘tactical pants’ and ‘tactical polos.’”
Tactical pants and tactical polos tend to be distinguished by quick-wicking and stretchy fabrics, that promise longer wearing times and superior handling of sweat (and odor). Some tactical pants will offer reinforced belt looping for heavy utility carrying (i.e. keychain or carabiner with survival tools). There are a variety of brands and makers, and the costs can indeed run up into the thousands if you so desire. But you can buy tactical outfits that are considerably cheaper.
This is nothing new for Pruitt. When Scotty P. was the attorney general of Oklahoma, his excessive spending of taxpayer dollars was legendary. It was as perfectly hypocritical as his “fiscal conservative” campaign. The irony here is that for a man already spending tons of money on everything related to his own personal comfort, it’s funny to think that if Pruitt didn’t spend so much on tricking out his office accommodations, the world might not be as annoyed at a few thousand dollars spent on shirts and pants. And, to be more honest, if he actually did the job of protecting the environment as is technically what the EPA is supposed to do, we would let him have all the fancy-pants he could ever desire.