Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke on Tuesday rejected reports that he has spent taxpayer money on private jet travel.
“Insults and innuendos are misleading,” Zinke said in comments before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, where he was testifying about the Interior Department’s fiscal 2019 budget request. “I never took a private jet anywhere.”
The Interior Department’s inspector general is investigating Zinke over his reported use of military and chartered flights.
Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington, the top Democrat on the committee, had harsh words for Zinke’s spending habits.
“While my constituents are hearing about private jet rides and expensive doors, they want to understand why someone is proposing to raise park fees at this level,” Cantwell said Tuesday morning.
“I resent the fact of your insults,” Zinke said in response to Cantwell’s criticism. “I resent the fact they are misleading.”
Zinke reportedly spent $139,000 on the construction of a door to his office dubbed the “Secretary’s Door.”
