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22:37 GMT
WASHINGTON, Sept 29 (KUNA) --US Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price resigned on Friday amid a federal investigation into his use of private jets.
White House spokesperson Sarah Huckabee Sanders issued a statement confirming the HHS Secretary had handed in his resignation which the President accepted this evening.
President Donald Trump expressed anger at the revelation that Price, a former Republican Congressman from Georgia, had spent over a million taxpayer dollars in domestic and international travel expenses.
Price said he would reimburse the government USD 51,000 dollars to cover a portion of the travel expenses. During the seven months at his post, Price reportedly chartered private planes for official business 25 times, both domestically and abroad.
This is a dramatic break from the austere travel mandates of past administrations that required Cabinet officials to fly commercially when traveling for business within the continental United States.
Prior to his HHS appointment, Price came under fire over allegations of corruption in his home state. While State Representative, he reportedly traded more than 300,000 USD in shares of health-related companies for over four years while sponsoring and lobbying legislations that potentially affected companies' stocks.
House and Senate investigators are looking into Price as well as other Cabinet members to disclose the extent of their use of non-commercial transportation across the country, including Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke who is also under investigation for his use of privately jets for official trips to the Caribbean.
The revelations come at a time when the same officials have proposed dramatic cuts in federal spending they oversee, putting the Trump administration in a precarious position.
"I certainly don't like the optics. I'm not happy I can tell you that," Trump told reporters as he left the White House en route for a weekend retreat to his private golf club in New Jersey. (end)
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