The wife of Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin struck back at critics of an Instagram post where she was seen bragging about taking trips on private jets and wearing expensive, high-end fashion bands.
Louise Linton, a Hollywood producer and one-time banker who has only been married to Sec. Mnuchin for two months, bragged of flying on a private plane to a government function in Kentucky in an Instagram post.
Linton also wrote of wearing expensive fashion brands such as Hermès, Roland Mouret, Tom Ford and Valentino, according to the Washington Post.
But not long after Linton publicly posted the entry, some social media users slammed her in the comment section saying how outraged they were that a government official was seen bragging about spending government money on luxuries.
On commenter, for instance, pointedly wrote “glad we could pay for your little getaway.”
Linton struck back hard ridiculing those who have less net worth than she and her husband and insisting that she deserves the luxuries because of the amount of taxes she has paid.
“Adorable! Do you think the US govt paid for our honeymoon or personal travel?!” Linton sneered. “Lololol. Have you given more to the economy than me and my husband? Either as an individual earner in taxes OR in self-sacrifice to your country? I’m pretty sure we paid more taxes toward our day ‘trip’ than you did. Pretty sure the amount we sacrifice per year is a lot more than you’d be willing to sacrifice if the choice was yours.”
“You’re adorably out of touch,” Linton added. “Thanks for the passive aggressive, nasty comment. Your kids look very cute. Your life looks cute.”
Linton soon set the post to private so that it could not be seen publicly.
Sec. Mnuchin and his new bride flew to Louisville, Kentucky, on Monday to huddle with lawmakers over tax reform proposals.
While it is standard practice for Treasury secretaries to fly on domestic carriers in the U.S. and government planes for overseas trips, Mnuchin’s office said the trip using the private plane was approved by the proper government offices.
Treasury also insisted that Linton’s travel was paid for by the Mnuchins.
It was further noted that Linton has received no compensation by any of the fashion brands she mentioned in her social media post.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston