QUESTIONABLE

Report: Zinke Flew on Charter, Military, Oil Execs’ Planes

Latest member of Trump Cabinet to face scrutiny for pricey private flights.

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke and his staffers have used charter and military planes for numerous trips, including one $12,000 charter flight to Montana and private flights between Caribbean islands, Politico reports. Zinke is now the fourth high-ranking member of the Trump administration revealed to being taking private-plane flights at the taxpayer’s expense, according to the report. In one such trip detailed by Politico, a chartered Beechcraft King Air 200 brought Zinke and his aides from Las Vegas to Glacier Park International Airport in Kalispell, Montana, at a cost of $12,375. According to The Washington Post, which cited aviation and business records, the private plane used for that trip was owned by the executives of a Wyoming-based oil and gas company. Interior Department spokeswoman Heather Swift said all of the flights in question were “pre-cleared by career officials in the ethics office” and booked only after officials were unable to find commercial options to suit Zinke’s schedule.