Treasury inspector general to review Mnuchin’s flight to Fort Knox
The U.S. Treasury’s Office of Inspector General is reviewing the flight taken by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and his wife, Louise Linton, last week to Louisville and Fort Knox, Ky., following criticism of their use of a government plane on a trip that involved viewing the solar eclipse.
“We are reviewing the circumstances of the Secretary’s August 21 flight . . . to determine whether all applicable travel, ethics, and appropriation laws and policies were observed,” counsel Rich Delmar wrote in a statement to The Washington Post late Thursday.
“When our review is complete, we will advise the appropriate officials, in accordance with the Inspector General Act and established procedures,” Delmar added.
The trip faced a torrent of criticism last week after Linton posted a photo to Instagram showing her descending from the steps of a government jet while clad in high-fashion designer labels, which she individually named. When one woman questioned her, Linton fired back that the woman had less money than her and was “adorably out of touch.”
Treasury secretaries and other Cabinet members not involved with national security have traditionally flown on government planes only on rare occasions, including international trips, while taking commercial airlines for other domestic travels.
Cabinet officials can request government flights for specific criteria, although Department of Defense policy calls it “a premium mode of travel involving high costs and limited resources” and urges federal employees to make “every effort . . . to minimize travel cost.”
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) last week requested a “detailed explanation” of the travel and justification for use of the government aircraft. One watchdog group, the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, also has requested records into the trip, saying it seemed “to have been planned around the solar eclipse.”