Thread by @RepDonBeyer

Earlier this week, a former Trump campaign staffer and senior aide to EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt came to Capitol Hill to voice concerns about Pruitt's actions.

He met with staffers for @SenWhitehouse, @GerryConnolly, @SenatorCarper, @RepCummings, and a member of my staff. 1/

Kevin Chmielewski was one of the Trump's earliest campaign aides.

Later he became Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations at the EPA under Scott Pruitt. While working there, he witnessed significant wrongdoing.

He told us about it. This is what he said: 2/ medium.com/oversightdems/…

He was told when he started that working there would be a "nightmare." This proved to be true.

Mr. Chmielewski said that Pruitt habitually marginalized, removed or retaliated against employees who stood up to Pruitt or refused to take troubling actions for him. 3/

He confirmed previously reported details about wasteful spending on first-class travel, locks, and security sweeps, and gave new info about improperly procured vehicles, sketchy contracts, office decorations and furniture, totaling tens of thousands of dollars. 4/

He confirmed that Pruitt told his security detail to speed through neighborhoods and use sirens to get around traffic in order to reach social engagements.

He confirmed that he used official EPA staff to hunt for apartments for him on official time, which is likely illegal. 5/

He said that Pruitt ordered staff to make up or look for meetings to justify travel home to Oklahoma, at taxpayer expense.

He said that Pruitt stayed in hotels that cost far more than government rules allow, at taxpayer expense, when less expensive options were at available. 6/

He said that he was ordered to retroactively approve first class flight upgrades for one of Pruitt's favored staffers, Samantha Dravis, even though doing so violated federal regulations.

He said that Pruitt asked for his resignation when he refused. 7/

He said that Pruitt's travel schedule in cities and countries began with Pruitt telling staff to "find me something to do" there. This travel cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars.

He said Pruitt asked the EPA to spend $100,000/month on private jet rentals for him. 8/

Mr. Chmielewski, who was one of the top-ranking officials at the EPA and present in the room on numerous conversations, said that raises for two top aides which Pruitt denied knowing about were approved by "100% Pruitt himself." 9/

He said he was present for a conversation on speakerphone between energy lobbyist Steven Hart and Pruitt's Chief of Staff in which the former claimed that Pruitt had never paid him any rent.

Public servants on official time talking to lobbyists about Pruitt's unpaid rent. 10/

Mr. Chmielewski described many other ethical lapses and instances of wasteful spending to us, conducted with Pruitt's knowledge and nearly always over the objections of senior staff or rank-and-file employees at the EPA. 11/

Though he remains loyal to Trump, and was one of the highest ranking EPA officials, Mr. Chmielewski was marginalized, banned from meetings, asked to resign, and then placed on leave when he objected to Scott Pruitt's unethical actions.

He saw others treated the same way. 12/

We wrote to @realDonaldTrump to tell him about the many concerns raised by his old friend and longtime staffer Kevin Chmielewski.

For my part, I called for Scott Pruitt's resignation in the face of massive wasteful spending and ethical lapses. This corruption must stop. 13/13