Inspector general finds Buttigieg’s use of government jets followed rules

WASHINGTON - The Department of Transportation’s inspector general concluded Wednesday that Secretary Pete Buttigieg and his predecessor, Elaine Chao, followed the proper rules when they used government jets for official travel.

Several Republican members of Congress had requested a review of Buttigieg’s travel. The inspector general launched its audit in February, saying it would also examine flights by Chao, whose travel had been scrutinized when she was in office.

The review found that Buttigieg used Federal Aviation Administration planes for eight trips - about 11 percent of his plane travel - and Chao used them for seven trips - about 7 percent of her travel. Almost all the rest of their air travel was on commercial flights, with each taking a handful of trips on military planes, according to the review.

The review found that the cost of the FAA plane travel for Buttigieg’s eight trips was $59,000. For five trips, the inspector general said records showed using a government jet was the most cost-effective option, even if the primary justification was security or access to communications equipment. Chao’s seven trips totaled $98,500. In one case Chao’s team cited cost effectiveness, and using the jet saved taxpayers $1,100.

While the inspector general’s review was ongoing, Buttigieg used the government plane to travel to Mexico City for a meeting with Mexico’s president on air transportation agreements, according to the review.

The Transportation Department said that the report confirmed that Buttigieg has directed that his travel be carried out in a cost-effective way.

“The majority of times the FAA aircraft was used actually saved taxpayers money, including in instances that were required for exceptional scheduling needs,” the department said in a statement.

A spokesman for Chao did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report.

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) asked for the review in December 2022 after a report in Fox News highlighted Buttigieg’s use of the planes. Rubio said in his request that “American taxpayers deserve assurances that their tax dollars are not wasted by the government’s highest officials.”

A spokesman for Rubio did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the inspector general’s findings.

The audit concluded that for each of the 15 trips it reviewed, staff in the secretary’s office had completed the proper paperwork and had the travel reviewed by the department’s lawyers. The FAA also completed the necessary records, according to the review.

The audit found that the FAA had not consistently updated the cost estimates for use of the planes and in three cases used the wrong rates to calculate the cost of trips. But the inspector general concluded that the issues did not “negatively impact the cost effectiveness of the trips.” The agency accepted recommendations to tighten its record keeping.

The FAA said at the time the review was launched that it maintained a fleet of aircraft primarily for safety research. Trips for Buttigieg and his aides amounted to about 3 percent of the fleet’s total flights, according to the FAA.

While it often proved more cost effective for Buttigieg to use the FAA planes, they are something of a perk for the transportation secretary because the hourly rate to use them is far higher for officials outside the department.

Chao faced questions about her use of the planes at a time when air travel by other members of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet was under scrutiny.

Then-Health and Human Services secretary Tom Price resigned when details emerged of his use of chartered aircraft for a dozen trips over the course of five months. In his case, the health department’s inspector general ultimately found his team had not performed cost comparisons and that $341,000 had been wasted.