Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is taking heat for flying himself and his husband to the Invictus Games in Europe on a military aircraft.
According to a calendar obtained by Americans for Public Trust (APT), Buttigieg flew from Joint Base Andrews in Washington, D.C. to Rotterdam in the Netherlands on a “MilAir Flight,” only to return two days later.
On April 13, 2021, President Joe Biden announced that Buttigieg would lead a presidential delegation of lawmakers and administration officials to the multi-sport event that is held for wounded, injured, and sick servicemen and women.
However, Twitter users called out the Biden staffer for traveling freely as thousands of Americans were left stranded in airports over the holiday season for his lack of duties with airlines.
“While families’ holiday travel plans were upended by his department’s failures, Buttigieg has used their tax dollars to avoid problems he created,” APT tweeted.
“Secretary Buttigieg’s travel woes keep piling up with this newest revelation that he and his husband took a private jet for a European trip,” Caitlin Sutherland, executive director of Americans for the Public Trust, told Fox News Digital. “Taxpayers, who just had their holiday plans completely upended because of Buttigieg’s travel mismanagement, should be furious.”
Sutherland continued to call out Buttigieg for getting off the hooking avoiding all responsibility for the problems he created by “flying private military jets around the world for non-military purposes.”
Republican communicator Matt Whitlock tweeted: “wild story - to summarize, while commercial air travel has been a disaster for you: Mayor Pete has taken 18 private jet flights He took Chasten on a military plane to attend a sporting event in Europe... with Meghan Markle and Prince Harry. Tom Price resigned for much less.”
Wild story - to summarize, while commercial air travel has been a disaster for you:
— Matt Whitlock (@mattdizwhitlock) January 4, 2023
✈️Mayor Pete has taken 18 private jet flights
✈️He took Chasten on a military plane to attend a sporting event in Europe.. with Meghan Markle and Prince Harry.
Tom Price resigned for much less. https://t.co/da0UbiV6zy
In response to APT’s report, Florida Congressman Mike Waltz vowed to investigate things like this once Republicans take the House.
We can’t look into things like this until we have a Speaker. https://t.co/rDogv9AAEd
— Rep. Mike Waltz (@michaelgwaltz) January 4, 2023