Zinke's speech to the Vegas Golden Knights took place during the hockey team's development camp. It occurred on the final day of the Secretary's three-day visit to Nevada in June. The timing of the evening speech required Zinke and his staff to take a private plane in order for him to make it to Montana on time for a meeting of the Western Governors' Association on the following day, the department has told news organizations. A timeline compiled by the Center for Western Priorities shows the Zinke team could have caught the last commercial flight to Montana if the hockey speech hadn't been on his agenda. The Secretary apparently spent more time with the team and its owner (2 hours) than on a meeting with local and state officials (less than 90 minutes) earlier in the day. The trip on the private plane cost taxpayers $12,375, according to news reports. It enabled Zinke to spend the night at his home in Whitefish, Montana, before the speech to the governors. "At #WGA2017 in my hometown of Whitefish #Montana. I think I'm the only one here who played trombone on this stage," Zinke wrote on Twitter on June 27.Golden Knights prospects have officially arrived in Vegas for Development Camp. #BoldInGold pic.twitter.com/8CjTvdNLQz
— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) June 27, 2017
The White House Office of Management and Budget has since ordered Cabinet heads to to seek "prior approval" before traveling on "government-owned, rented, leased, or chartered aircraft." The September 28 memo directive came on the same day Tom Price resigned as Secretary of Health and Human Services. Price and his staff spent more than $1 million on private planes, according to news reports. His expensive habit angered President Donald Trump. Prior to his resignation, Price said he would pay for the cost of his seats on the private planes he used. The reimbursement comes to $51,887.31, according to CNN, or just a fraction of the total cost of the trips. Zinke doesn't plan on reimbursing the government for his trips, The Associated Press reported. The Secretary of the Interior typically travels to remote areas of Indian Country and hard to reach public lands, often requiring the use of government and charter planes. None of Zinke's predecessors appear to have been the subject of similar internal inquiries. Still, the Office of Inspector General at Interior is investigating his travel in light of complaints, mainly from Democrats in Congress. Read More on the Story:
U.S. Interior Secretary investigated over speech to donor's hockey team (Reuters October 3, 2017)
Interior, EPA chiefs: No plans to pay back charter flights (The Associated Press October 3, 2017) Also Today:
What’s driving an Interior whistleblower to dissent? (High Country News October 3, 2017)
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