Trump, House Oversight Committee look into Cabinet members' expensive air travel
The House Oversight Committee is investigating the use of non-commercial airplanes by President Trump's Cabinet members, including Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, The Hill reports.
On Tuesday, Politico reported Price has taken at least 26 flights on corporate jets, in several cases when there were commercial flights available to his destinations. In one example, Price chartered a round-trip Learjet flight to Nashville, a half-hour trip each way, which cost $17,760 according to the federal contract. In another instance, Price took a $25,000 135-mile flight from Philadelphia to Washington, D.C., also on a private jet.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has also been scrutinized for possibly taking a government plane on a trip centered around viewing the total solar eclipse. Mnuchin in addition reportedly requested use of a government jet to whisk him and his third wife, Louise Linton, away to Europe this summer for their honeymoon.
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President Trump expressed displeasure with Price in particular during questions with reporters Wednesday. "I can tell you personally, I am not happy about it," Trump said. "I am not happy about it. I am going to look at it. I am not happy about it, and I let him know." Jeva Lange
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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.
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