HHS Secretary Tom Price’s high-priced flights on charter and military aircraft have led him to resign, leaving President Trump with another job opening.
WASHINGTON — President Trump said he will decide Friday night whether or not to fire Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price – and announce his decision soon.
Trump called Price a “very fine man” but once again expressed his irritation about Price’s use of private planes.
“I’m not happy, I can tell you,” Trump told reporters as he headed for the presidential helicopter Marine One, en route to a weekend stay at his golf club in New Jersey. “I certainly don’t like the optics. I’m not happy, I can tell you that. I’m not happy.”
Before boarding he was asked if Price offered to resign, and Trump said: “No, but we’ll see what happens later on.”
Trump’s comments follow revelations that Price racked up roughly $1 million in flight costs on private and military aircraft since taking office in February.
Politico first revealed that Price billed taxpayers for the more costly flights, instead of flying commercial airlines, which would be cheaper.
On Thursday, Price said he would repay the government about $52,000 for his domestic travel on chartered planes. He apologized for taking the flights.
“I regret the concerns this has raised regarding the use of taxpayer dollars,” he said. “All of my political career, I’ve fought for the taxpayers. It is clear to me that in this case, I was not sensitive enough to my concern for the taxpayer. I know as well as anyone that the American people want to know that their hard-earned dollars are being spent wisely by government officials.”
Price also vowed not to take any more private charter flights as secretary. He also said he would write a personal check to the U. S. Treasury for the flights he has taken previously.
Trump spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the White House has asked HHS to stop approving chartered flights.
“That’s something that we’re certainly looking into from this point forward and have asked a halt be put, particularly at HHS, on any private charter flights moving forward — until those reviews are completed,” she said on Thursday.
Price’s apology came the same day that the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee asked President Trump to explain what the administration has done to make sure his Cabinet is being cost-effective in its travels.
A former House member from Georgia and one-time chairman of the Budget Committee, Price is an orthopedic surgeon who entered politics as a member of the Georgia legislature. He was an early and active opponent of the Affordable Care Act, which he oversaw as HHS secretary.
Even before he was confirmed by a party-line 52-47 vote in the Senate, Price had stirred controversy for his series of trades in stocks affected by legislation he introduced in Congress.
In February, USA TODAY reported on two separate stock transactions by Price involving companies that would have benefited from the Patient Access to Durable Medical Equipment Act he introduced in May 2016.
Price’s bill reversed cuts in reimbursement to makers of home medical beds and other equipment. He bought $15,000 worth of shares in McKesson, which bills itself as the oldest and largest health care company in the world, and distributes drugs, medical supplies and equipment including beds and lifts for homes.
A week after he introduced the bill, Price purchased up to $15,000 worth of shares in Blackstone, which owns the privately held home medical equipment company Apria.
Apria sells home medical equipment, including walkers, hospital beds and wound therapy devices.
Former government ethics lawyers said Price bought and sold health care company stocks often enough as a member of Congress to warrant probes by both federal securities regulators and the House ethics committee.
Between 2012 and February, Price traded shares worth more than $300,000 in about 40 health-related companies, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis. At the same time, Price was on the House Ways and Means Committee’s subcommittee on health working on measures that could affect his investments.
Contributing: Jessica Estepa and Jayne O’Donnell
