Ex-Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price now wants to be a senator

Former Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price had one of the Trump administration's earliest scandals, one that seems rather quaint today — he just spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxpayer money jetting around on private planes.

Now, two years after he was forced out of his Cabinet position, Price is back, this time with his eye on a new role: U.S. Senator. A spokesman for Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) confirmed with The Associated Press on Thursday that Price submitted an application to Kemp, seeking appointment to the seat that will be vacated by Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) in December. Isakson announced his retirement last month, citing health reasons. The person who fills the seat will spend just 10 months in office, as a special election is scheduled for November 2020.

An orthopedic surgeon, Price served as a congressman from 2005 to 2017, representing the Atlanta suburbs. He only spent seven months as head of HHS, forced out in September 2017 after it was revealed that his travel expenses were exorbitant. The department's inspector general found that he spent $1.2 million on travel over the course of seven months, wasting at least $341,000 by flying on private jets and military aircraft.

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