The Washington Post details former Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price's spending of hundreds of thousands of dollars on charter flights around the country, which lead to his ouster.
Former President Donald Trump nominated Price to the position, and he was confirmed in February 2017. But by the end of September, he had resigned, following disclosures that he spent at least $400,000 on private flights.
The Post now provides more details on those flights, including a $14,955 flight in September 2017 for Price, White House advisor Kellyanne Conway, and their aides between Washington, DC, and Philadelphia. The Post adds that an inspector general investigation found they spent $10,000 more than if they had flown commercial and that they even could have taken the train.
Price defended his travel to the Post, saying the charter flights were necessary for his schedule.
The Post adds that the scandal split HHS, as some thought Price's ouster was manufactured. This, it says, "drove a wedge between the department's leaders and fed long-festering frustrations that exploded last year as coronavirus-related pressures bore down on the health agency, contributing to Trump officials' fractured response to the pandemic."