Georgia's Price Under Fire For Expensive Flights As Trump's HHS Director

A member of President Donald Trump's cabinet from Georgia has garnered some unwanted attention this week for what some are calling his excessive use of private flights at taxpayer expense.

Top lawmakers and late-night comedians alike are honing in on reports that Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price has a habit of taking the expensive, private rides at times when his predecessors would have flown on cheaper commercial flights.

On Tuesday, Politico reported that Price had taken chartered flights five times between Sept. 13-15, costing taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars more than commercial flights would have. On Thursday, the political site followed up, reporting that Price has taken at least 24 flights on private charter planes since early May.

As Trump's Health Secretary, Tom Price Is Really Into Private Jets

Politico reported that the trips it has confirmed by Price have cost more than $300,000.

Price, of Roswell, is a doctor who served as U.S. representative for much of Atlanta's northern suburbs from 2005 until earlier this year. He was confirmed as Trump's HHS secretary in February. (SIGN UP: Get Patch's Daily Newsletter and Real Time News Alerts. Or, if you have an iPhone, download the free Patch app.)

In a statement to Patch on Friday, a spokeswoman for Price described the secretary's travel as part of his effort to get out of Washington and be accessible to the American people.

"Secretary Price leads a $1.2 trillion agency – the largest agency in government," spokeswoman Charmaine Yoest said in the statement. "The travel department continues to check every possible source for travel needs including commercial, but commercial travel is not always feasible. The President has made it clear his Administration will move power out of Washington and return it to the American people.

"Secretary Price will continue meeting with the American people outside of the Beltway to hear their concerns and ensure HHS makes decisions that best provide for their needs."

Politico's report flies in the face of Trump's stated mission to "drain the swamp" of excess in Washington and also appears to contrast sharply with the practices of Price's two predecessors — Obama-era secretaries Sylvia Mathews Burwell and Kathleen Sebelius — who Politico says flew commercially when traveling in the continental United States.

Price's office declined to confirm his travel log to Politico, but confirmed that he "sometimes charters planes when commercial flights aren't feasible."

But the Politico post documents multiple flights taken by Price that were between cities with major airports that have frequent direct flights. In one instance, he chartered a private flight from Dallas to Philadelphia that took off five minutes after a commercial flight making the same journey.

The late-night crowd, predictably, has jumped all over the reports.

During Thursday night's opening of "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert," Price was lampooned with a spoof video in which he uses a private jet to fly to his nephew's soccer practice, his neighborhood Costco and the Arby's drive-through.

"Probably would have been quicker to walk, but here we are," the plane's pilot says in what the comedy bit billed as never-before-heard audio from the plane's cockpit.

But the travel is receiving questioning of a more official kind, too.

On Wednesday, top House and Senate Democratic lawmakers sent a letter to the federal department's Office of the Inspector General, asking for an investigation into Price's travel.

The letter was signed by House Energy and Commerce Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), House Ways and Means Ranking Member Richard Neal (D-MA), Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-WA), Senate Finance Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-OR), and Senate Subcommittee on Federal Spending Oversight & Emergency Management Ranking Member Gary Peters (D-MI).

"American taxpayers deserve assurances that their tax dollars are not wasted by the government’s highest officials, and we are committed to holding Secretary Price to his stated pledges to reduce waste throughout the Department," the letter reads. "Therefore, we appreciate your prompt and thorough review of these issues."

On Friday, that office confirmed that it is looking into Price's travel.

In a statement, the inspector general's office said it will investigate whether Price's trips complied with federal travel regulations, "but may encompass other issues related to the travel."

"We take this matter very seriously, and when questions arose about potentially inappropriate travel, we immediately began assessing the issue," the statement reads. "I can confirm that work is underway and will be completed as soon as possible."

Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images