Earlier today the theoretically remorseful Trump Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price announced he would be paying back taxpayers for his use of chartered jets to traverse the country—only for it to be revealed that he would "reimburse" taxpayers only about $50,000 towards the $400,000 cost of those flights.
Within hours of that revelation POLITICO dropped yet another shoe: The costs racked up by Price's penchant for private travel since he took the job earlier this year aren't just $400,000. It turns out they're well over double that.
The White House approved the use of military aircraft for multi-national trips by Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price to Africa and Europe this spring, and to Asia in the summer, at a cost of more than $500,000 to taxpayers.
The overseas trips bring the total cost to taxpayers of Price’s travels to more than $1 million since May, according to a POLITICO review. [...]
Price’s wife, Betty, accompanied him on the military flights, while other members of the secretary’s delegation flew commercially to Europe.
Why the Health and Human Services secretary required extensive military transport for overseas trips while other members of his staff flew on the same days to the same destinations on commercial airlines continues, even now, to be unspecified. And Price’s added travel expenditures have, in a half year, already dwarfed his own prior demand that his agency cut its yearly travel budget by $660,000. Apparently he did not intend his own personal travel expenses to count.
This is, to borrow a phrase, not going to fly. This fellow is going to have to do a hell of a lot better than cutting a check for five cents on the dollar to make up for his grifting.
