POLITICS Flying Private on the Public's Dime

Three senators accounted for most of the $1 million lawmakers spent on chartered planes last year

- MICHAEL SCOTT DAVIDSON

SOARING INFLATION DIDN'T STOP U.S. SENAtors Mike Rounds, Kirsten Gillibrand and Chuck Schumer from shelling out taxpayer money on private air travel last fiscal year.

The trio accounted for most of the $1 million that lawmakers spent on charter flights from October 2021 through September 2022, according to a Newsweek analysis of recently released congressional spending records.

Fewer than a dozen senators fueled the spending. The vast majority of Congress' upper chamber did not fly charter with public funds; expenses were also significantly lower in the House.

Rounds, a Republican, racked up $380,000 in airfare, primarily by commuting multiple times a month to Washington, D.C., from his home state of South Dakota.

Gillibrand and Schumer, both from New York, paid $390,000 combined flying across the state to hold press conferences, meet with constituents and make other public appearances. On several occasions, the Democrats traveled between areas served by nonstop commercial flights or that were within driving distance of one another.

Rounds, Gillibrand and Schumer, the Senate majority leader, have outspent their colleagues in each of the past three fiscal years, records show.

Other top spenders include Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who made more than a dozen trips in fiscal year 2022 alone. Fellow Republicans John Thune of South Dakota and John Barrasso of Wyoming expensed a similar number of excursions. Formerly Democratic and now independent Senator Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona spent more than $55,000 on just five flights.

Staff for most senators did not respond to requests for comment on the spending. Rounds' office says the flights were necessary for him to reach the Capitol from his rural hometown in a timely manner. Spokespeople for Barrasso and Sinema say charter flights allowed the senators to quickly travel across their large states to meet with constituents.