According to Buttigieg’s office, there were long-established rules for using planes, and his former secretary also used them. The audit comes at a time when Republicans are increasing pressure on Buttigieg over the Ohio freight train derailment and air travel disruptions. An audit by the Department of Transportation’s inspector general was requested by Senator Marco Rubio (R, Florida), who cited Fox in his news report.
Buttigieg spokeswoman Kelly Arndt said in an emailed statement that his team welcomed the review, saying it “settles some of the false, outlandish and cynical claims about the secretary’s mode of transportation. “It will be an opportunity,” he said.
“It doesn’t change the fact that he’s flying commercial most of the time,” says Arndt. “The exception is that career ethics officers at the Department of State who have worked under both Democratic and Republican administrations have found using the nine-seat FAA plane to be more cost-effective, for exceptional scheduling or for security reasons. It is when we judge that it should be approved.”
The Office of the Inspector General did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Senator Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) also sought information about Buttigieg’s travels and wondered if some of his travels were justified.
“A brief meeting with people you might have met in Washington, or spoken to on the phone, can be truly private, especially when you’re calling on Americans to make sacrifices to reduce their carbon footprint. It raises questions as to whether the use of jets is necessary,” Grassley wrote in January.
reply on monday Since taking office in early 2021, 119 of Buttigieg’s 138 flights have been with commercial airlines, according to the Department of Transportation.
Buttigieg once flew a Coast Guard aircraft, according to the Department of Transportation. He flew to Europe in a military plane to represent the regime in the Invictus Games, a contest for wounded soldiers and veterans.
Earlier in the Trump administration, Buttigieg’s predecessor, Elaine Chao, flew FAA planes seven times, two of which were overseas trips, The Washington Post reported in 2017. . On his one trip to Europe, Chao and his five staff members cost him $68,892, according to the department. Her office attempted to use a government plane on her trip for security purposes, according to her memo requesting her approval for its use.
Anthony Foxx, who served under President Barack Obama, used them on 116 trips over four years.
Republicans in Congress have asked for information about Buttigieg’s use of the government plane after an advocacy group obtained details about the flight in December.
“American taxpayers deserve assurance that their tax dollars are not wasted by government officials,” Rubio said in December, asking inspectors to review. “I am committed to both holding Secretary Buttigieg accountable for the unauthorized use of government aircraft and ensuring compliance with DOT policies and procedures.”
The FAA said in a statement that it retains the aircraft primarily for safety research. However, it can also be used by other government agencies and Departments of Transportation to carry dignitaries. Trips carrying Buttigieg accounted for 3% of his flights on the FAA’s three aircraft, the agency said.
Federal regulations require departments to weigh the cost of using FAA planes against commercial options. Department of Transportation employees receive significant discounts compared to other users.
The FAA’s fee for using Cessna Citation is almost $5,000 per hour for non-transportation users. But for a staff member within the department, the rate he charges is about $1,000 an hour. This is mainly due to the difference in the accounting method for lease expenses. The FAA has converted these hourly rates into his per-seat ticket prices to allow for price comparisons.
In a letter to Grassley, the Department of Transportation said it was sometimes more efficient and cost-effective for Buttigieg and his staff to use agency planes.
“The use of FAA planes in limited, specific cases has helped maximize efficiency and save taxpayers thousands of dollars,” the agency wrote. We have already budgeted for fleet operations, maintenance and leasing for FAA missions, so the marginal operating costs incurred by government officials using FAA aircraft are limited.”
Buttigieg used the plane last summer on a multi-city tour of the country to promote infrastructure law subsidies. That tour accounted for seven of the flights. His office said that using his FAA plane on that trip would have cost him $14,940.40 and allowed him to travel to rural areas. Including travel expenses for his secretary and his staff, taxpayers saved him $2,300, the ministry said.
“Most of my travel is with airlines,” Buttigieg said in an interview last August when the SUV landed on a plane parked on the runway in Reno. Buttigieg said when he uses a plane, “either you have a complicated itinerary, or you do the math and it’s actually cheaper for taxpayers.”
In one case where the department determined that air travel was no cheaper than business travel, officials said weather disrupted flights to Arizona and commercial alternatives could not be accommodated at short notice by Buttigieg’s security team. I needed a transfer that wasn’t there.
During the Trump administration, Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price resigned after being investigated for flying a charter plane 12 times over a five-month period. In a subsequent review by his department’s inspector general, Price’s office made no cost comparison of the trip and concluded that $341,000 was wasted on his trip.
