Trump 'not happy' about HHS Secretary Tom Price's private flights
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Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price is flying right into controversy with the use of 5 private jets for work trips just last week. Veuer’s Nick Cardona (@nickcardona93) has that story.
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WASHINGTON — President Trump said he is “not happy” about Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price’s use of private flights at taxpayers’ expense.Â
“I’m not happy about it and I let him know it,” Trump said Wednesday, adding that he’s “looking into it.”Â
Asked if Price will be fired, Trump said: “We’ll see.”Â
Earlier on Wednesday, the House Oversight Committee chairman and the panel’s top Democrat requested information related to top government officials’ use of private or government-owned planes.
The request, sent to 24 agencies and the White House, comes after a series of reports revealed that administration officials were requesting or using non-commercial flights.
Chairman Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., and ranking member Elijah Cummings, D-Md., sent a letter on Tuesday, asking for any information about the use of government-owned planes by unelected officials, or private flights by non-career officials in the executive office of the president. The letter also asks for the departments’ policies on this kind of travel.
“Official travel on the part of federal employees must be ‘by the most expeditious means of transportation practicable’ and ‘commensurate with the nature and purpose of the [employee’s] duties,’ and by no means should include personal use,†the letter, addressed to various department heads and Chief of Staff John Kelly, reads.
The letter follows a series of reports about Price’s use of private planes. Over the weekend, Price said he wouldn’t take any more chartered flights until a review of the trips was complete. He conceded “the optics don’t look good.â€
On Wednesday, Politico reported that Price took some trips to places where he owns property – and some flights were paired with visits to colleagues and family members.
The Oversight Committee review is in addition to an investigation Price said he initiated, and another the department’s Inspector General is handling that congressional Democrats had requested.
Price isn’t the only official whose travels have raised questions. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin reportedly requested use of an Air Force jet for his honeymoon this summer. Additionally, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt flies home to Oklahoma at the government’s expense.
Contributing: Ledyard King, David JacksonÂ
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