Establishment Republicans Block Bipartisan Effort to Force Buttigieg Private Flight Transparency

Establishment Republicans on Wednesday shot down Rep. Mary Miller’s (R-IL) amendment that would have disclosed Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg’s 18 secret, taxpayer-funded flights.

Miller proposed an amendment to H.R. 3935, the Securing Growth and Robust Leadership in American Aviation Act, a bill meant to tackle the ongoing issues in the aviation industry.

As part of that, Miller proposed her amendment, which would address the longstanding secrecy surrounding Buttigieg’s 18 taxpayer-funded private jets since taking office in 2021. Americans for Public Trust (APT) obtained data that found that Buttigieg used two taxpayer-funded Cessna 650XL jets managed by the Federal Aviation Administration for trips to Nevada, Florida, Oklahoma, Minnesota, Ohio, and New Hampshire. Buttigieg also reportedly used a private plane to travel to Montreal, Canada, to attend an International Civil Aviation Organization conference in 2022.

Prior cabinet members, such as former Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, used the same fleet seven times, which Politico reported cost taxpayers $94,000. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Tom Price resigned in 2017 after he had taken 26 private jet flights, which cost taxpayers $1.2 million.

“Taxpayers deserve to know where Mayor Pete has been jetting off to at taxpayer expense while the rail and airline industry collapse in our country,” Miller told Breitbart News in a comment.

“Mayor Pete devastated commercial air travel with his COVID vaccine mandates and racist pilot hiring mandates, but while your flight was delayed or canceled, Mayor Pete took 18 secret flights on a taxpayer-funded FAA jet. My amendment will force the FAA to hand over the logs for Mayor Pete’s secret private jet flights,” she continued.

Miller said on the House floor on Wednesday that Americans deserve “transparency and oversight” surrounding Buttigieg’s private flights:

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Miller’s amendment did not pass, however. Ten House Republicans shot down the amendment, as it was two votes shy of being passed in the House. Three House Democrats voted for the amendment, which includes Reps. Ted Lieu (D-CA), Katie Porter (D-CA), and Yadira Caraveo (D-CO).

The Ten House Republicans that did not vote for Miller’s amendment include:

1. Rep. Troy Balderson (R-OH)
2. Rep. Jack Bergman (R-MI)
3. Rep. Marcus Malinaro (R-NY)
4. Rep. Jen Kiggans (R-VA)
5. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA)
6. Rep. David Joyce (R-OH)
7. Rep. Garret Graves (R-LA)
8. Rep. Sam Graves (R-MO)
9. Rep. Amata Coleman Radewagen (R-AS)
10. Rep. Brandon Williams (R-NY)

“Every day Americans face flight cancellations and long wait times because Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has completely mismanaged air travel,” APT Executive Director Caitlin Sutherland told the New York Post in December 2022. “Yet, he gets to avoid all that by taking taxpayer-funded private jets to destinations with readily available commercial airline options.”