Secretary Zinke Improperly Paid For Private Helicopter Tour With Wildfire Funds
The helicopter rides had nothing to do with wildfires, but that didn’t stop them from using wildfire relief funds for the helicopter tour.
Another Trump administration official is in hot water for improperly using government funds for private air travel.
According to a new report, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke and the Interior Department improperly used wildfire preparedness funds to pay for a private helicopter tour of Nevada on a trip that had nothing to do with wildfires.
According to emails obtained by Newsweek, “Officials initially said Zinke’s July 30 helicopter trip could be covered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the National Interagency Fire Center, a hub for the organization of response to wildfires—even though the secretary did not visit any fire zones that day.”
The report points out that Zinke’s helicopter tour cost taxpayers $39,295.
And after Newsweek raised questions about the appropriateness of using wildfire funds the Interior Department now pay for the airfare using “a more appropriate account.”
Read the full Newsweek report here.
[image via Interior Department]
