Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price resigns

(Image credit: Chris Kleponis - Pool/Getty Images)

published 29 September 2017

On Friday afternoon, the White House announced that Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price had offered his resignation, and that President Trump had accepted. Don Wright, the deputy assistant secretary for health, will serve as acting health secretary beginning at 12 a.m. ET Saturday.

Price had been embroiled in controversy after Politico reported extensively on his use of private planes while in office, costing taxpayers more than $1 million. After it was reported earlier this week Price had racked up more than $400,000 worth of charter flight fees, Trump had said he was "not happy" with his health secretary and would not rule out firing him. Politico then reported late Thursday on an additional $500,000 worth of military flights Price had taken along with his wife Betty to Europe and Africa.

Price has already offered to reimburse the government for nearly $52,000 for the charter flights, a fraction of their total cost. An HHS spokesman told Politico that Price had already reimbursed the agency for his wife's flights on the military planes, but would not say when he had done so. Earlier Friday, Trump had promised to make a decision "sometime tonight" as to whether he would retain Price as a Cabinet member.