Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has occasionally been hitching rides on military jets, including for a recent swing through Iowa alongside Republican candidates ahead of the midterms, the Washington Post reports, citing multiple sources familiar with his travel. An Air Force Gulfstream that matches his Aug. 17 schedule costs the Pentagon about $9,000 an hour to operate, compared with roughly $250 for a commercial ticket on the same route.
The sources say White House and Health and Human Services lawyers approved the rare arrangement, which department officials argued was justified by Kennedy's heavy schedule, security needs, and public profile. Ethics experts warn such flights should be reserved for exceptional cases and not overlap with political activity. Kennedy, a key Trump ally, has been deployed to help GOP candidates in states including Iowa and has also been pressed by a Trump adviser to nudge some third-party hopefuls out of tight Iowa races.
According to the Post's sources, there has been some internal pushback against the use of military aircraft, with Kennedy agreeing not to use a military jet on at least one occasion after Chris Klomp, nominated by President Trump as the department's second-in-command, questioned whether it was necessary. The Post notes that the administration's attitude toward Kennedy's travel is a departure from earlier policies. Tom Price, the first health secretary of Trump's first term, resigned in September 2017 after it emerged that he had usedprivate jets for official travel at taxpayers' expense.
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