After President Donald Trump said he was “not happy” about Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price’s use of private planes, the Cabinet official told reporters on Thursday that he believes he still has the President’s confidence.
“I think we’ve still got the confidence of the President,” Price told reporters after an event in Washington, D.C. promoting flu vaccines, as quoted by Politico.
The secretary would not answer reporters’ questions about whether he regrets using private jets or whether he plans to reimburse taxpayers for the cost of the trips, according to Politico.
Price spent more than $300,000 of taxpayer money on private charter plane flights up and down the East Coast to attend events in his official capacity as Health and Human Services secretary. His extensive use of private planes has prompted the House Oversight Committee to open an investigation into Trump administration officials’ use of non-commercial planes.
Trump signaled Wednesday that he’s not pleased with Price’s penchant for taking charter planes.
“I will tell you personally, I’m not happy about it,” Trump told reporters Wednesday. “I’m going to look at it. I am not happy about it, and I let him know it.”
Asked if he would fire Price, Trump replied, “We’ll see.”
