An audit by the Office of Inspector General (OIG) has revealed that Pete Buttigieg, the Secretary of Transportation, and his team spent approximately $59,000 on executive aircraft travel for official events between August 2021 and June 2023.
The audit, which was released on Wednesday, found that Buttigieg chose to use the government fleet for eight trips, comprising over 20 flights.
The Department of Transportation (DOT) has consistently defended Buttigieg's use of the jets, arguing that it saved taxpayers money. However, the audit disclosed that only three of the trips were justified by cost-effectiveness. The remaining trips were justified by security, scheduling, and communication concerns.
The DOT OIG report emphasized the importance of federal officials adhering to federal requirements regarding the use of public resources. "Ensuring that Federal officials, including career personnel and political appointees, adhere to Federal requirements regarding the proper use of public resources is essential to maintaining public trust and confidence," the report stated.
The report also highlighted the internal controls the Department has over the process to authorize and approve travel on official use of DOT aircraft. These controls include requiring legal review and approval of all aircraft use justifications and implementing new ones, such as expanded voucher audit criteria, to ensure process standardization.
During the period analyzed, Buttigieg's flights cost taxpayers an estimated $58,882. The Transportation Secretary used the jets, managed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), to travel across the country. He often attended local events where he announced federal funding and grants for local infrastructure projects.
In August 2022, Buttigieg and his team traveled to several states, including Florida, Oklahoma, Minnesota, Ohio, Nevada, and New Hampshire, on the Building a Better America Tour. During this tour, Buttigieg unveiled grants under President Biden's 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The use of the FAA aircraft for this trip cost taxpayers an estimated $14,940 and was justified by "exceptional scheduling" needs.
In April 2022, Buttigieg and his staff spent $1,822 to travel to New York City for a radio interview and two meetings before returning the same day. Scheduling considerations were also used to justify these travel arrangements.
Buttigieg most recently used the executive fleet to travel to Mexico for a meeting with the nation's president. This trip cost $14,029 and was justified by "exceptional scheduling; communications or security needs," according to the OIG report.
The OIG noted that, based on DOT's internal calculations, the three trips justified by cost-effectiveness saved a total of $10,678. However, the inspector general found that the agency is not required to "provide documentation to support commercial flight costs or availability information used in cost comparisons," making it impossible to verify these cost savings.
A DOT spokesperson told Fox News Digital, "As the report confirms, the Secretary travels by commercial airline the vast majority of the time and has directed that travel and logistical decisions be grounded in efficient and responsible use of taxpayer dollars."
The spokesperson added, "The exceptions have been when the Departments career ethics officials, who have served under both Democratic and Republican administrations, determined that the use of a 9-seat FAA aircraft would be either more cost-effective or should be approved for exceptional scheduling or security reasons."
The report found that Buttigieg chose to travel on commercial aircraft for 57 trips, or 82.6% of his total trips. By comparison, Elaine Chao, Buttigieg's predecessor, opted for commercial travel on 90% of her trips. However, one of Chao's trips, a trip to France in 2017, cost taxpayers a staggering $69,952, according to the audit.
The DOT OIG also found that the agency, under both Buttigieg and Chao, complied with federal regulations, policies, and procedures for the two secretaries' travel on the FAA fleet. However, it noted that the agency has used incorrect cost estimates when determining the cost of traveling on the jets, an error that did not negatively impact cost-effectiveness.
Caitlin Sutherland, the executive director of Americans for Public Trust (APT), told Fox News Digital, "In this holiday news dump, the Inspector General admits that the Department of Transportation has been using incorrect flight cost estimates to justify Secretary Buttigiegs use of a taxpayer-funded private jet."
She added, "Travelers are spending their hard-earned money and countless hours on flights to see loved ones this holiday season. As they sit on the tarmac, theyll have plenty of time to wonder why theyre paying for their own commercial flights and Buttigiegs private flights, too."
The OIG audit was initiated in late February after Fox News Digital revealed Buttigieg's use of the jets, citing information obtained by APT, a conservative-leaning watchdog group, in December 2022.
Following the Fox News Digital report, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., sent a letter to the OIG requesting the investigation. "It is unclear why Secretary Buttigieg would require such costly travel in these instances when more economical options were reportedly available," the Republican lawmaker wrote at the time.
Login