HHS Secretary Tom Price Draws Fire for Reports of ‘Mind-Blowing’ Use of Private Jets

Republican politician has criticized Democrats’ spending on charter flights in the past

Donald Trump’s Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price has come under fire after Politico reported late Tuesday that the Republican politician has used private jets for government business five times in the last week — including for a 125-mile trip from Philadelphia to Washington, D.C.

“This is a mind-blowing story, coming as Price & Admin are working feverishly to slash health coverage for millions,” CNN commentator David Axelrod tweeted.

“A DC to Philly charter flight is one of the most insane expenditures I’ve ever heard of,” MSNBC host Chris Hayes noted.

 

As Politico reported, using a private jet cost tens of thousands of dollars more than booking a commercial flight — which Obama-era HHS secretaries Sylvia Mathews Burwell and Kathleen Sebelius did when traveling on government business.

Ultimate Jet Charters estimated it cost about $25,000 to charter the Embraer 135LR twin jet that ferried Price and about 10 other people to one New Hampshire event, Politico wrote, compared to $447 to $725 per person for a commercial flight.

As a congressman from Georgia, Price was a frequent critic of federal spending and a proponent in 2009 of decreasing the amount of money spent on jets used by government employees, declaring on CNBC that spending millions on the aircraft was “another example of fiscal irresponsibility run amok in Congress.”

On Twitter, several are retweeting the Politico article and adding their own commentary.

One pointed out that Joe Biden as Vice President used to take the train from Washington, D.C., to Delaware. Another listed a handful of commercial travel options, all that cost less than $500. Another simply called him “a fantastic piece of s—.”

Check out more reactions below.

https://twitter.com/JasperAvi/status/910342716684455937

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