Rand Paul Staff Hopped an $18K Private Jet in Trump Probe

Rand Paul has been hammering at federal waste for years, but Politico reports that his office has meanwhile been shelling out for private jets on the public's dime. The outlet found that six staffers for the Kentucky senator—now chair of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee—took a charter flight from Washington to Pittsburgh in July 2024 as part of a bipartisan probe into the attempted assassination of then-presidential candidate Donald Trump. Cost to taxpayers: $17,827 for the roughly one-hour hop, a sum that made up more than 18% of the committee's travel spending over a six-month stretch. Other committee aides taking the same trip reportedly spent under $1,000 by driving or flying commercial.

Paul spokesperson Drew Carmichael said the charter complied with Senate rules and was the "most efficient and effective" option, but declined to explain why it was cheaper or necessary. Politico also details a broader pattern: repeated private-jet use for official Kentucky travel and more than $113,000 in campaign and PAC spending on charters, even as Paul brands himself a budget hawk. One former Trump administration official calls the Pennsylvania trip "highly irregular," adding that "Oversight shouldn't create its own oversight." For the comprehensive breakdown, ethics questions, and records behind the numbers, read the full piece at Politico.