Sneaky Pete: DOT Obstructing Investigation Into Buttigieg's Travel

Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg and his advisers have taken 23 flights on government private aircraft since assuming office, but the Department of Transportation (DOT) is refusing to provide details about the taxpayer expenses of those flights, according to a report.

“The DOT and the agency’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) office both declined to detail how much each flight cost taxpayers over the course of multiple months and in recent weeks,” Fox News Digital reports. “The stonewalling comes amid an ongoing inspector general audit of Buttigieg’s use of the planes, which are part of a small fleet managed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).”

“It’s inexcusable that Secretary Buttigieg’s agency is hiding the detailed costs of these taxpayer-funded flights,” Caitlin Sutherland, the executive director of watchdog group Americans for Public Trust, told Fox News Digital. “Federal law dictates a timely release of exactly these types of records to the public.”

She added, “The American people are entitled to know the true cost of Buttigieg and his entourage of staffers flying private to destinations that have readily available commercial options.”

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) had requested an investigation into Buttigieg’s excessive traveling in reaction to a Fox News Digital report in December showing that Buttigieg had made 18 flights on FAA planes since January 2021. The DOT’s inspector general announced its plans to investigate last month.

Michael Chamberlain, the director of another watchdog group, Protect the Public’s Trust, is similarly disturbed by Buttigieg’s attempt at secrecy.

“Sadly, reports of unnecessary secrecy and selective release of information are all too common when discussing the self-proclaimed most transparent administration in history,” Chamberlain explained. “And it appears that the more high-profile the issue or event, the greater the efforts to hide the information the public deserves to know.”

He added, “Contrary to what some agencies appear to believe, saving powerful officials from disclosure or embarrassment is not a legitimate reason to keep the public in the dark.”