Did Steve Mnuchin’s Eclipse Trip Skirt Ethics Rules?
Image by Getty Images
A federal watchdog is reviewing the circumstances surrounding a controversial flight taken by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and his wife to Kentucky, where he spoke to business leaders and viewed the solar eclipse, according to The Washington Post.
A counsel for the Treasury’s Office of Inspector General told the Post in a statement late on Thursday that the flight was being reviewed “to determine whether all applicable travel, ethics and appropriation laws were observed.”
The Post said Democratic Senator Ron Wyden last week requested a “detailed explanation” of the travel and justification for use of the government aircraft. It said Treasury secretaries and other Cabinet members not involved in national security have traditionally flown on government aircraft on rare occasions, usually taking commercial flights for domestic travel.
The former hedge fund manager and his wife, actress Louise Linton, stirred controversy last week when they traveled to Louisville and Fort Knox, Kentucky, where they viewed the solar eclipse with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and others.
Linton helped touch off the controversy by posting a photo of herself on social media getting off a U.S. government plane and listing the designer brands she was wearing. That triggered a spat between Linton and critics angered by the display of wealth and privilege.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we need 500 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Our Goal: 500 gifts during our Passover Pledge Drive!
