DOT won't disclose cost of Buttigieg, advisor trips amid internal probe

The Department of Transportation has thus far declined to disclose information related to the cost of several key trips Department Secretary Pete Buttigieg and his advisors took amid an Inspector General probe into his use of federal planes.

The Federal Aviation Administration maintains a small fleet of planes of which Buttigieg and his myriad advisors have often made use. The DOT's Inspector General announced last month that it would investigate the secretary's use of the planes at the behest of Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio.

Fox News filed a Freedom of Information Act request for information regarding the cost of Buttigieg's trips following earlier reporting that he had taken 18 trips on FAA planes since January 2021. While the agency dithered for months, it ultimately provided records of the flights but omitted any record of their costs. The information they did release, however, indicated that Buttigieg's advisors took a further three flights using the federal fleet.

The outlet has been unable to coax further information as to the cost of the flights from the DOT, though agency spokeswoman Kerry Arndt pointed to a Washington Post article estimating the cost of Buttigieg's 18 flights to be a total of approximately $42,000. Fox observed that such a low figure would be inconsistent with rates the FAA has charged other federal agencies for legitimate purposes.

Buttigieg, formerly a rising figure in the Democratic Party, has seen his political star fade somewhat amid continuous outcry over his job performance with detractors pointing to his agency's poor handling of mass airline cancellations during last year's Christmas season and its seemingly sluggish response to a recent train derailment in Ohio that saw toxic materials leak from the railcars.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on Twitter.