Brock Long, the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, spent more than $150,000 of government funds for personal travel on trips to and from his home in North Carolina on the weekends and during a family vacation to Hawaii, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.
According to a portion of a Department of Homeland Security inspector general report obtained by the Journal, $94,000 of the $151,000 went toward the salary of staff whom he had drive him to North Carolina. Another $55,000 was used on travel expenses and $2,000 for maintenance.
Long racked up a portion of the expenses during a trip to Hawaii, when he had aides drive him and his family around in government vehicles. The trip was both for a family vacation and official business. The aide who transported Long and his family reportedly erased evidence of the travel to try to throw off the IG probe, according to the WSJ’s review of the report.
During his frequent trips from Washington, D.C. to North Carolina and back, Long also had an aide accompany him and used taxpayer funds to put the staffer up in a hotel while he spent time with family. The IG probe was apparently opened at the behest of DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, who reportedly have a tense relationship with Long due to his frequent tardiness and use of government vehicles.
Nielsen’s spokesperson told the WSJ last week that Long would repay the government “as appropriate,” but when contacted on Tuesday, a spokesperson didn’t specify how much would be repaid.
Read the full WSJ report here.
