WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump said Wednesday he is "not happy" with Health Secretary Tom Price following reports of his extensive use of publicly-funded private jets and indicated he has not ruled out firing the former Georgia congressman over the trips.
"We'll see," Trump told reporters assembled on the White House's South Lawn when asked about whether he would fire Price.
“I was looking into it and I will look into it," Trump said, according to Politico. "And I will tell you personally, I'm not happy about it. I am not happy about it. I'm going to look at it. I am not happy about it, and I let him know it.”
The exchange came days after the same publication reported that Price flew charter airplanes on more than two dozen occasions since last spring, costing taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars. Easily accessible commercial flights were also available in most of those cases, the outlet reported, and some trips were to locations where he owned homes or family lived.
The inspector general at the Department of Health and Human Services announced last week that it was investigating Price's travel. The former orthopedic surgeon has since announced that he won't take taxpayer-funded trips on private jets while the inquiry is ongoing.
Price is not the only member of the Cabinet to be in a precarious position with Trump. The president has also floated the possibility of firing Attorney General Jeff Sessions after the former senator recused himself from the Russia investigation, paving the way for the appointment of special counsel Robert Mueller.
Read more: Tom Price ditches taxpayer-funded travel on private jets for now
About the Author
