Republican Senator Introduces Bill Meant to Make Pete Buttigieg Fly Commercial Over Private

Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) is introducing a bill aimed at preventing Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg from flying private jets.

Schmitt accused Buttigieg of wasting taxpayer dollars and said he should be forced to fly commercial in an interview with Fox News Digital.

“Secretary Buttigieg seems averse to traveling on the very commercial airlines that his department oversees. It’s far past time that Secretary Buttigieg travel commercially instead of wasting taxpayer dollars on private jet flights,” he said.

The bill would require officials to fly commercial unless during a time of emergency or if a private flight can be provided that is at least five percent cheaper than traveling commercial.

Republicans have criticized Buttigieg’s reliance on private flights in his role as Transportation Secretary. After a Fox News report last year revealed Buttigieg took 18 private trips, costing more than $40,000, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) requested a probe into the matter.

The Transportation Department Office of Inspector General (OIG) is reviewing the flights in question.

Buttgieg released a statement about the probe, saying he's "glad" the matter is being looked into and saying he mostly flies private when it is cheaper than flying commercial.

"Bottom line: I mostly fly on commercial flights, in economy class. And when I do use our agency’s aircraft, it’s usually a situation where doing so saves taxpayer money," he said.