On Monday, the oversight watchdog tasked with keeping an eye on our Transportation Department announced they’ll be taking an audit deep dive into Pete Buttigieg, over his use of Federal Aviation Administration jets. He never seems to be around when he’s needed but somehow managed to log at least “18 flights on the FAA jets.” There are regulations on when one can be used.
Buttigieg travel questioned
Pete Buttigieg needs to round up his receipts. Every federal department gets it’s own Inspector General to keep the officials safely between the legal lines. The one providing oversight to the Department of Transportation wants to make sure that Pete’s complying with the rules.
They announced on Tuesday that they’ll be doing an audit to “determine whether the Office of the Secretary complied with Federal regulations, policies, and procedures regarding executive travel on DOT aircraft.”
The controversy started back in December when Florida Senator Marco Rubio “found that Buttigieg had taken at least 18 flights on the FAA jets.”
Has there ever been someone to be proven so completely incompetent for a Cabinet-level job than Pete Buttigieg? https://t.co/mTKmRdlsTu
— Dan K. Eberhart (@DanKEberhart) February 27, 2023
They promise the investigation will begin “shortly,” noting “Senator Marco Rubio requested that we determine whether the Secretary’s use of Government aircraft for domestic and international travel complied with all applicable Federal regulations and DOT policies and procedures.” That’s a fair request, so they’ll do it.
Federal travel regulations clearly limit travel on government vehicles, stating that “because the taxpayers should pay no more than necessary for your transportation, generally you may travel on Government aircraft only when a Government aircraft is the most cost-effective mode of travel.”
Iowa Senator Charles Grassley sent Buttigieg a request for detailed explanations of his travel habits, including “an itemized list of all non-commercial flights he took, all expenses paid for by Transportation Department related to the flights and reasons the flight was warranted.”
Most travel was commercial
Buttigieg had his office promptly comply with Grassley’s demands and claims he has nothing to fear from the upcoming audit either. The 18 flights he took were spread over seven different trips. The bill totals up to $41,905.20 but that includes “accommodations for staff.”
He also assured Senator Grassley that “119 out of Buttigieg’s 138 flights he took since being sworn in were on commercial airlines.”
“We welcome this independent audit moving forward in order to put some of the false, outlandish, and cynical claims about the Secretary’s mode of travel to rest. The fact remains that he flies commercially the vast majority of the time,” a spokesunit for Buttigieg relates.
It has taken 20 days for Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to visit East Palestine.
America needs an experienced leader to avoid further catastrophes. pic.twitter.com/I8YnaJn7S2
— Senator Ted Cruz (@SenTedCruz) February 23, 2023
The office already has a good response prepared for the auditor, too.
“The exceptions have been when the Department’s career ethics officials, who have served under both Democratic and Republican administrations, determined that the use of a 9-seat FAA plane would be either more cost effective or should be approved for exceptional scheduling or security reasons.”
If that’s the case, Buttigieg should have no problem proving it. Coming up with answers for the snapped supply chain and generally crumbling rail system are entirely different matters.
