House Launches Investigation Into HHS Secretary’s Private Jet Use; Trump Says He’s ‘Not Happy’ With Price
When asked if HHS Secretary Tom Price would be fired over his use of a private jet that has cost taxpayers more than $400,000 since May, President Donald Trump said, "We'll see." Meanwhile, the House Oversight Committee is requesting information on Price's travel.
The Washington Post:
Trump: ‘Not Happy’ About HHS Secretary Tom Price’s Taxpayer-Funded Travel On Private Jets
President Trump on Wednesday said he is "not happy" about revelations that Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price took numerous flights on government-funded private jets for work and personal trips. But the former congressman from Georgia is likely to keep his job, according to two people familiar with Trump's thinking. Responding to questions from reporters at the White House, Trump said he is “looking into” the situation and that “personally, I'm not happy about it, and I let him know it.” Trump spoke by phone with Price in recent days, said the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the personnel issue. (Nakamura and Gearan, 9/27)
The Associated Press:
Top Health Official’s Travel Angers Trump
President Donald Trump says he’s “not happy” with his top health official, putting Tom Price’s job in jeopardy after his costly charter flights triggered a congressional investigation of administration travel. Asked whether he’s planning on firing Price, Trump responded Wednesday: “We’ll see.” (Alonso-Zaldivar and Lucey, 9/28)
Politico:
Trump Fuming Over Price's Charter Flights
Politico has revealed that Price has flown 26 times on private aircraft since last May at a cost of hundreds of thousands of dollars, a break with the practice of his predecessors, who generally took commercial flights. Some Trump advisers are urging Trump to get rid of Price, according to three people familiar with the conversations. “His conduct is pretty much indefensible,” one senior administration official said. “I don’t know how you defend it.” (Dawsey, Restuccia and Nelson, 9/27)
Stat:
On Heels Of Tom Price Private Jet Revelations, House Committee Launches Inquiry
As a Republican effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act collapsed for the second time in three months this week, the man tapped to lead the charge found himself at the center of another controversy. Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, according to a series of reports from Politico, has racked up a tab of more than $400,000 in private jet travel, despite his predecessors’ longstanding practice of traveling on commercial airlines. (Facher, 9/27)
Los Angeles Times:
Will Health Secretary Tom Price Be Fired Over Use Of Charter Planes? 'We'll See,' Trump Says
The inspector general of the Health and Human Services Department is probing the flights, and the House Oversight Committee has asked the White House and various agencies to turn over information about any private flights. (Decker, 9/27)
Bloomberg:
Trouble Mounts For Trump’s Health Secretary After Private-Jet Trips
On Wednesday, the the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform released a letter asking Price for details on his use of “government-owned aircraft for personal travel or private non-commercial aircraft for official travel.” The letter, signed by the committee’s top Republican and Democrat, gives Price two weeks to provide the records. It also drags the former congressman into an inquiry by fellow Republicans, a relative rarity in Washington politics. HHS’s Office of Inspector General is also investigating the trips. (Edney, 9/27)