Joe Biden’s transportation secretary, Pete Buttigieg, has been extensively traveling at the expense of the American taxpayer.
Buttigieg racked up almost $60,000 in plane tickets on government jets, according to an inspector general report.
Despite advocating for saving the climate, Buttigieg’s carbon footprint is bigger than some American cities.
What’s worse is Buttigieg is ruining the environment, and the taxpayer funds it.
FOX News reports:
According to an inspector general audit released Wednesday, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and his staff spent nearly $59,000 traveling to official events on government-managed executive aircraft between August 2021 and June 2023.
Buttigieg opted to travel on the government fleet across eight trips and more than 20 flights, the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Office of Inspector General (OIG) determined in its months-long investigation.
Though DOT has repeatedly explained that Buttigieg’s use of the jets saved taxpayers money, the audit revealed that just three of the trips were justified by “cost effectiveness,” while the others were justified by security, scheduling and communications concerns.
“Ensuring that Federal officials, including career personnel and political appointees, adhere to Federal requirements regarding the proper use of public resources is essential to maintaining public trust and confidence,” the DOT OIG report concludes.
“The Department has internal controls over the process to authorize and approve travel on official use of DOT aircraft, such as requiring legal review and approval of all aircraft use justifications, and has implemented new ones, such as expanded voucher audit criteria, to help ensure process standardization,” it continues.
“Continued oversight in this area is important to maintain transparency and accountability for Federal funds.”
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg shelled out tens of thousands in taxpayer dollars on gas-guzzling jet travel since Aug. 2021 — all while the government works toward a sprawling green energy agenda, according to an IG report Wednesday https://t.co/yhzsOg5nGU pic.twitter.com/Xq0BVa3na3
— Gabe Kaminsky (@gekaminsky) December 20, 2023
Earlier this year, a U.S. government watchdog said it would investigate Buttigieg for the taxpayer-funded flights he took on government airplanes for private trips.
18 flights taken by Buttigieg on Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) planes will now be reviewed by the Transportation Department Office of Inspector General
“Glad this will be reviewed independently so misleading narratives can be put to rest,” Buttigieg wrote on Twitter after news broke the watchdog will investigate his flights.
“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.”
As Politico reported: DOT said in December that the 18 flights Fox News highlighted — to destinations that included Las Vegas, Montreal and Oklahoma — cost taxpayers just under $42,000.
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) initially requested the audit and called for Buttigieg’s resignation over handling the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.
Any government official can use the fleet if they can demonstrate to the satisfaction of the agency’s ethics department that the flights will be more cost-effective than flying commercial or for security or scheduling reasons.
FEMA officials and National Transportation Safety Board accident investigators are typically frequent users of the planes, and it is not unusual for top DOT and FAA officials, as well as the heads of other agencies, to use them when warranted.
READ MORE: Pete Buttigieg Tries to Blame Trump for East Palestine Train Disaster
