Pete Buttigieg often flies on taxpayer-funded private jets, flight data show
Fox News Digital reports that Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has flown at least 18 times since he took office using taxpayer-funded private aircrafts.
According to flight tracking data reviewed and analyzed by Fox News Digital, Buttigieg traveled the country, visiting Florida, Ohio, and New Hampshire. He also used a private jet fleet operated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). These flight records are consistent with Buttigieg’s schedule of public and external engagements, as compiled by the government watchdog American for Public Trust (APT).
Politico reported that Elaine Chao, the predecessor to Buttigieg, was criticised for using the same planes seven times in 2017. This cost taxpayers almost $94,000. Trump’s Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price had to resign after taking 26 private plane flights in the same year. This cost taxpayers approximately $1.2 million.
The House Oversight and Reform Committee, which is bipartisan, opened an investigation into the use of private and government-owned aircraft by senior Trump officials for travel days before Price submitted Price’s resignation letter.
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Fox News Digital’s Caitlin Suerland, APT executive director, stated that every day Americans are facing flight cancellations and long wait times due to the way Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg mismanaged air travel. He can avoid it all by flying taxpayer-funded private planes to places with commercial airlines options.
She continued, “And for someone so holier than thou about reducing emissions Buttigieg sure seems to not seem to mind the polluting caused by his literal Jet-setting.” This is hypocrisy at its best, and taxpayers should be immediately questioned about these troubling expenses.”
The exact cost of Buttigieg’s flights is unknown, but the FAA charged federal agencies approximately $5,000 an hour to use its fleet. This was reported by the Washington Post during the congressional investigation into Trump’s travel in 2017.
According to flight data, Buttigieg took two Cessna 560XL taxpayer-funded private jets on trips during the 22 months that President Joe Biden appointed him to head the Department of Transportation (DOT). A Gulfstream IV plane is also owned by the FAA.
Buttigieg used government-managed private planes to travel roundtrip from Washington, D.C. to Las Vegas in August 2021 to promote public works projects for Nevada.
Another example is that Buttigieg flew in a private plane to visit multiple states during August’s tour to highlight grants under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. During the “Building a Better America Tour”, he flew to Florida, Oklahoma and Minnesota as well as Ohio, Nevada, Nevada, and New Hampshire.
Buttigieg’s visits to the states were largely considered swing states during recent federal elections. Politico reported that Buttigieg answered questions about why he chose to travel to these states. He noted that Oklahoma wasn’t considered a swing state, and stated that “there was a great tale” about the infrastructure grant he was supporting there.
He said, “We’re going places that demonstrate how many things you can achieve with good transportation dollars.”
Buttigieg flew roundtrip from Montreal in an FAA private aircraft in September. He also attended the International Civil Aviation Organization conference during his visit.
Buttigieg was also present at a ceremony hosted by a large Canadian gay rights group, where he was presented with a prestigious award for “contributions towards the advancement of LGBTQ Rights.”
Price was partly pressured to resign because he used the government private jets for mixed personal and professional travel.
Fox News Digital spoke to a spokesperson for the DOT, saying that Secretary Buttigieg primarily travels by commercial airlines and had directed that travel and logistical decision-making be based in efficient and responsible uses of taxpayer dollars. “Company air travel is often the most affordable way for the Secretary and his staff, so 108 of the 126 DOT trips that he’s taken were on commercial airlines,” a spokesperson for DOT told Fox News Digital.
The spokesperson stated that there are instances when it is more cost-effective and/or efficient for the Secretary and his accompanying personnel to fly in a 9-seater FAA aircraft rather than on commercial flights. The FAA plane has been used in specific, limited cases to save taxpayers thousands of dollars.
Although the spokesperson did not share details about how much taxpayer money the agency has saved, commercial flights from Washington D.C. to Montreal, Las Vegas and Minneapolis, as well as other destinations Buttigieg has visited via private aircraft, are available every day.
Federal law mandates that official travel must be made using the fastest and most efficient means of transportation. This should also be in line with the purpose and nature of the official’s duties. Walter Shaub, a former head of U.S. Office of Government Ethics in 2017, told Politico that federal regulations state that taxpayers should not pay more for official transportation.
Buttigieg also revealed in an interview last month with Conde Nast Traveler that he prefers to arrive at airports one hour early and has “got all the pre-checks and clear stuff all down” so he can avoid delays. Although he didn’t mention private jet travel, he said that his travels are more complicated due to the security arrangements.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), criticized the DOT over the summer for failing to do more to reduce the rise in delays on commercial flights. Over the past 12 months, airlines have reported an increase in delays.
The transportation secretary is also a strong advocate for climate action. He has warned repeatedly about the dangers of human-caused global warm. He is particularly passionate about policies that would transform the U.S. economy into green energy and reduce carbon emissions.
However, private jet travel is the most carbon-intensive mode of transport. According to a report by Transport & Environment in 2021, private jets are 10x more carbon-intensive than commercial planes, and 50x more carbon-intensive than trains.
After his appointment, Buttigieg stated that the climate crisis was “here today”, threatening Americans’ lives, livelihoods, homes, businesses, and even our ability to travel and operate federal agencies.
