President Donald Trump’s health secretary, seeking to tamp down a broadening scandal over his use of costly private jets for government travel, has said that he would reimburse federal coffers for the expenses.
“I regret the concerns this has raised regarding the use of taxpayer dollars,” Tom Price said in a statement, a day after Trump issued a forceful public rebuke about his flights on private aircraft. “Today, I will write a personal check to the US Treasury for the expenses of my travel on private charter planes.”
In all, Price has flown on 26 separate trips this year on private aircraft, totalling some $400,000, according to Politico.
Price’s job as head of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) appeared to hang in the balance in recent days, amid an internal probe into his use of the costly jets instead of commercial travel.
The trips were for government business, HHS said, but some of the flights were to destinations where Price owns property, or where he met relatives.
“I will take no more private charter flights as secretary of HHS. No exceptions,” he said.
As for the flights already taken, “the taxpayers won’t pay a dime for my seat on those planes”, he added.
Five Democratic lawmakers had called for Price’s resignation.
US government guidelines call for travelling officials to take scheduled commercial flights whenever possible.
During his time as a congressman from Georgia, Price – a millionaire former doctor – routinely condemned the federal government for its “reckless spending”.