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ABC News

As investigations into alleged ethical misconduct at the Environmental Protection Agency heat up, two high-ranking aides to administrator Scott Pruitt have abruptly left their jobs this week.

Democrats have raised questions about spending and security decisions made by the head of Pruitt's security team, Nino Perrotta, as well as about the professional background of Albert Kelly, a senior advisor to Pruitt who he put in charge of a task force on the agency's Superfund sites.

Perrotta is expected to be questioned by the House Oversight Committee Wednesday.

Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va., who has raised questions about both Kelly and Perrotta, said in a statement that the departures show the extent of the problems at EPA.

“Scott Pruitt should be the next to go. The exodus of Pruitt’s closest aides shows just how toxic his reign at EPA has become," Beyer said in a statement.

The EPA did not respond to multiple requests for comment from ABC News. The agency confirmed that Perrotta and Kelly both left the agency this week in statements to multiple news outlets.

In a congressional hearing last week, Rep. Scott Peters, D-Calif., asked Pruitt if he would order Kelly to testify before Congress after he canceled a previous appearance.

Peters said he wanted Kelly to answer questions about the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) banning him from the banking industry. Other Democrats have asked the EPA to answer questions about whether Kelly’s banking background was considered when he was vetted for the position.

Kelly signed a consent decree with the FDIC, an independent agency that regulates the financial industry, in August, that said he would be banned from work in banking for life, according to The Oklahoman and other news outlets. That agreement was signed three months after he was announced as the head of the EPA's superfund task force, according to a press release.

Pruitt said in the hearing that he thinks Kelly should answer questions from Congress.

Peters also referenced reports that Kelly owns property adjacent to a Superfund site in Oklahoma and said he wants to know if EPA ethics officials reviewed that as a possible conflict of interest. E&E News reported last year that Kelly, who was put in charge of an effort to streamline the Superfund program, has personal experience with the contaminated sites because there is one in his hometown and close to land owned by his family.

The New York Times also reported that Kelly had financial dealings with Pruitt when they were both living and working in Oklahoma.

Kelly did not respond to request for comment from ABC News. His resignation was first reportedby Axios.

Perrotta is a former Secret Service agent whose career in law enforcement included a stint investigating the Gambino crime family for the Bronx district attorney in New York City, led Pruitt’s 24-hour security detail, putting him at the center of several of the ethics and spending episodes under review by the EPA inspector general and congressional investigators.

In a phone interview Tuesday morning, Perrotta, who said he left his job at the EPA Monday, said he plans to "fully cooperate and answer any and all questions" from Congress, starting with the transcribed interview with the House Oversight Committee Wednesday.

"All of this press is taking a toll on my family. I decided to move on and it’s been an honor to serve," he said.

The New York Times previously reported that Perrotta planned to retire from EPA this summer.

An EPA spokesman declined to comment on the transcribed interview and did not respond to repeated requests for comment on Perrotta's departure.