CNN’s Don Lemon pushed back on Transportation Sec. Pete Buttigieg’s private jet use Tuesday after it was announced his travels would be audited.
Republican Florida Sen. Marco Rubio requested that the Transportation Department Office of Inspector General review flights Buttigieg made on FAA planes, according to Reuters. The cost of 18 flights, seven trips in total, totaled $41,905.20, with the Transportation Department saying that six of the seven trips were cheaper to fly on the FAA plane than commercial, according to Reuters.
“There is an internal audit of your use of FAA jets for official trips following a request for review by Sen. Marco Rubio, who also scrutinized Elaine Chao’s private jet travel as transportation secretary. Do you have a response to that?” Lemon asked. (RELATED: Buttigieg’s Office Refuses To Say Why He Took Photo Of DCNF’s Jennie Taer, Demands Reporter Turn Off Camera)
“Here’s how we handle my travel: the vast majority of the time I travel on commercial airlines and economy class, but there is a portion of the time, I’d say about 10 to 20%, when we use our agency’s aircraft. This is not chartering a private jet. This is a government aircraft that is assigned to the FAA. Usually, when we use it, it’s because for me to travel with staff turns out to be cheaper than buying all of those airline tickets,” Buttigieg said.
WATCH:
“Occasionally, it’s because of a security or logistical issue, but the number one reason we would use that agency aircraft is that it actually works out to be less expensive for tax payers than the commercial airline tickets would be.”
“So no concerns about this?” Lemon pressed.
“Yeah, it’s good for it to get an independent look. I mean, I won’t say anything about the motivations of the senator. I will just say that we are here with the facts, and we’ll put forward the math, and I think people will see how we make these decisions, why we make these decisions, and I think it’s a good thing for people to understand that.”