Spectacularly corrupt Environmental Protection Administration head Scott Pruitt has had a top official doing personal errands and research for him, including one outstandingly weird task. Millan Hupp, the EPA administrator’s director of scheduling and advance, told congressional investigators that she had looked for apartments for Pruitt and his wife, booked his travel to the Rose Bowl … and tried to get him a used mattress from the Trump hotel in Washington, D.C.
Hupp said that she recalled that Pruitt “has spoken with someone at the Trump Hotel who had indicated there could be a mattress he could purchase, an old mattress he could purchase,” and that the administrator “had expressed interest in securing a mattress” to her.
Hupp said that she did not recall what resulted from the inquiry, but, asked to confirm that “it was not for use at EPA,” she replied, “Not to my knowledge.”
The exact same mattress is available by mail order, but Pruitt wanted one specifically from Trump’s hotel. Since he doesn’t seem to have had a specific mattress in mind, we can rule out an awkward DNA situation, which makes the most likely scenario an equally awkward attempt to suck up: “I loved the mattress in your hotel so much I bought one for myself, sir!” As if Donald Trump would respect someone for buying a used mattress.
Bizarre desire for a used Trump hotel mattress aside, Pruitt was using a federal staffer to take care of his personal business, which is a no-no. Or would be, in an administration with any respect for the rule of law—or with a Congress willing to carry out meaningful oversight.