EPA head Scott Pruitt needs 24-hour security detail to protect from 'the left' and his own employees

Scott Pruitt, head of the Environmental Protection Agency, would like some protection of his own.

A draft of the EPA’s latest budget includes a request for 10 additional guards and 24-7 security detail, the New York Times reports, calling it a first for an EPA chief. The draft also includes sweeping cuts to the agency, shrinking the budget by $2.4 billion and eliminating 15,000 jobs, according to the Times.

As Quartz’s Zoë Schlanger reports, when asked about the security detail, Myron Ebell—former head of Trump’s EPA transition team—said Pruitt requires extensive protection because he faces risk from liberal activists and his own employees.

“I think it’s prudent given the continuing activities by the left to foment hatred, and the reported hostility within the agency from some unprofessional activists,” Ebell said in interview with E&E News.

Pruitt’s staff is reportedly on high alert, and “anticipate that Mr. Pruitt will initially request a 24/7 detail," E&E News reports.