Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos travels around the country on her personally-owned private plane, but unlike other top Trump administration officials, DeVos covers the cost of the travel herself, according to a report.
The travel arrangements of Cabinet secretaries serving in the Trump administration have faced heightened scrutiny after it was revealed Wednesday that Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price chartered a private plane at taxpayers’ expense on five different occasions to travel to events when commercial options were available.
DeVos travels on a private plane to tour schools and attend events across the country in her capacity as secretary of education. But the Department of Education told the Associated Press the aircraft is “personally-owned” and comes at “no expense to taxpayers.”
“The secretary neither seeks, nor accepts, any reimbursement for her flights, nor for any additional travel-related expenses, such as lodging and per diem, even though she is entitled to such reimbursement under government travel regulations,” Education Department spokeswoman Liz Hill told the AP. “Secretary DeVos accepted her position to serve the public and is fully committed to being a faithful steward of taxpayer dollars.”
In addition to covering the costs of flights aboard her private plane, Hill said DeVos also pays for hotels and other travel expenses “out of pocket and at no expense to taxpayers.”
Since she was confirmed by the Senate in February, DeVos’s lone charge to the Education Department was for a $184 roundtrip Amtrak ticket from Washington, D.C., to Philadelphia, Hill told the AP.
By comparison, former Education Secretary John King, who served under former President Barack Obama, racked up $39,000 in travel charges during his first few months in office, the Department of Education spokeswoman said.
DeVos is married to Dick DeVos, whose father started Amway, a multibillion dollar marketing company. DeVos’s father founded Prince Automotive, which was sold for $1.35 billion in 1996.
According to Forbes, Devos is worth $1 billion.
