Did Steven Mnuchin and Louise Linton use a government plane to watch the eclipse?
A watchdog group is attempting to get to the bottom of whether or not Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and his wife, Louise Linton, used a government plane for a trip centered around viewing the total solar eclipse earlier this week.
Citizens for Ethics and Responsibility in Washington (CREW) filed a Freedom of Information Act request to learn "the justification for Secretary Mnuchin's use of a government plane, rather than a commercial flight, for a trip that seems to have been planned around the solar eclipse and to enable the secretary to secure a viewpoint in the path of the eclipse's totality."
Mnuchin and Linton officially traveled to Lexington, Kentucky, so Mnuchin could speak alongside Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and attend a luncheon. Mnuchin and Linton subsequently boarded the plane to Fort Knox "to tour the bullion reserve at the Army post and view the eclipse."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
It is not the only controversy the couple has faced this week. Linton also posted a photo to Instagram of her disembarking the government plane in Kentucky and wrote an ill-advised reply to a commenter who called the getaway "deplorable."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
-
What is the global intifada?The Explainer Police have arrested two people over controversial ‘globalise the intifada’ chants
-
The Week Unwrapped: What’s the cost of PFAs?Podcast Plus why is George Osborne joining OpenAI? And has universal basic income finally come of age?
-
The week’s best photosIn Pictures A dervish dance off, a frosty forest, and more
-
Jack Smith tells House of ‘proof’ of Trump’s crimesSpeed Read President Donald Trump ‘engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election,’ hoarded classified documents and ‘repeatedly tried to obstruct justice’
-
House GOP revolt forces vote on ACA subsidiesSpeed Read The new health care bill would lower some costs but not extend expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies
-
Hegseth rejects release of full boat strike footageSpeed Read There are calls to release video of the military killing two survivors of a Sept. 2 missile strike on an alleged drug trafficking boat
-
Trump vows naval blockade of most Venezuelan oilSpeed Read The announcement further escalates pressure on President Nicolás Maduro
-
Kushner drops Trump hotel project in SerbiaSpeed Read Affinity Partners pulled out of a deal to finance a Trump-branded development in Belgrade
-
Senate votes down ACA subsidies, GOP alternativeSpeed Read The Senate rejected the extension of Affordable Care Act tax credits, guaranteeing a steep rise in health care costs for millions of Americans
-
Abrego García freed from jail on judge’s orderSpeed Read The wrongfully deported man has been released from an ICE detention center
-
Indiana Senate rejects Trump’s gerrymander pushSpeed Read The proposed gerrymander would have likely flipped the state’s two Democratic-held US House seats
