Buttigieg claims ‘misleading narratives’ on government use of private planes, ‘glad’ for IG audit

Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg said Monday that he was “glad” for the Transportation Department inspector general’s audit of his use of government planes following what he said were “misleading narratives.” 

“Glad this will be reviewed independently so misleading narratives can be put to rest,” he tweeted. 

“Bottom line: I mostly fly on commercial flights, in economy class. And when I do use our agency’s aircraft, it’s usually a situation where doing so saves taxpayer money,” the secretary said, including a link to a report from The Washington Post.

A spokesperson for the department, Kerry Arndt, said Buttigieg “flies commercially the vast majority of the time,” according to Politico.

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In a Monday memo, the inspector general announced the office would conduct an audit to determine whether the secretary complied with federal regulations, policies and procedures regarding executive travel on Transportation Department aircraft, focusing on official trips taken since Jan. 31, 2017. 

This action comes following a request from Sen. Marco Rubio in December and news reports, including a report from Fox News Digital which said Buttigieg had taken at least 18 flights using taxpayer-funded private jets since taking office. The report cited flight tracking data. 

A Transportation Department spokesperson then said that Buttigieg mostly travels by commercial airline and “has directed that travel and logistical decisions be grounded in efficient and responsible use of taxpayer dollars.”

The spokesperson said 108 of the 126 flights Buttigieg had been on were using a commercial airline. 

“However, there are some cases where it is more efficient and/or less expensive for the Secretary and accompanying personnel to fly on a 9-seater [Federal Aviation Administration] plane rather than commercial flights,” the spokesperson said. “Use of the FAA plane in limited, specific cases has helped to maximize efficiency and save thousands of taxpayer dollars.”

The department said the 18 flights had cost taxpayers just under $42,000, per Politico.