Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price spent tens of thousands of dollars to take a private jet to travel up and down the East Coast last week, Politico reported.
The move isn’t illegal, but breaks with the precedent of his predecessors who took commercial flights for official business travel.
A department spokesperson declined to share details of the flights with Politico or say who paid for the trips, but said Price occasionally uses a charter aircraft for official travel when commercial flights aren’t feasible.
None of the organizations that Price met with in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania paid for his travel, Politico confirmed.
Several current and former Health and Human Services staffers told Politico that Price has been using private jets for domestic travel for months.
While not illegal, the practice is considered suspicious and is characterized as an irresponsible use of taxpayer funds, Walter Shaub, the former director of the U.S. Office of Government Ethics told Politico.
In apparent reaction to Politico’s reports, Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ) announced Wednesday he’s planning to ask the department’s Inspector General to look into Price’s use of private planes for government business, according to a statement.
The ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce committee said he wants to see a “full accounting” of Price’s travel.
Read the full report — which outlines all the feasible methods of commercial travel at the dates and times of Price’s trips — here.
Just more proof that we need to build up the Air Force. Or buy him a Piper Cub.
If Price isn’t the worst of them, he certainly ties with whomever else we might consider for first place.
Another example of how the “borrow and spend” Republicans operate.
How does Price flying private jets work with MAGA? Does he have a fear of TSA? What’s he got against our great American airlines?
I thought they were against “entitlements?” Hypocrisy!!