Treasury Secretary Mnuchin requested government jet for European honeymoon

Joanna Estrada

“People in Kentucky took this stuff very seriously. Being a New Yorker I don’t have any interest in watching the eclipse,” Steve Mnuchin said Thursday at a conference sponsored by Politico

Mnuchin's comments come after it was revealed that he had requested to use a government plane for his honeymoon earlier this year. I've never asked the government to pay for my personal travel.

Mr Mnuchin said his staff withdrew the request after finding another way to ensure he could communicate securely.

But he said it was just an option being explored and once it became clear he could obtain secure communications links without a government plane, the request was withdrawn. The agency's Office of Inspector General confirmed Thursday that it is also looking into a trip Mnuchin and his wife took to Kentucky last month on an Air Force plane.

Treasury officials have defended the day-long jaunt as "official government travel" and dismissed the suggestion that it was planned specifically to coincide with the celestial event. So, to show that the Trump administration doesn't have cosmopolitan bias, the Treasury Secretary, appointed by the president who lives in a gold tower in Midtown Manhattan, flew on a government plane to watch the eclipse on top of a pile of gold, then said that only simple Kentuckians care about i - not us smart and cool New Yorkers.

Aside from the President and Vice President, travel on military aircraft is typically reserved for cabinet members who deal directly with national security, such as the Secretaries of Defense and State.

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"We all grew up in one of the most culturally and racially diverse cities in the world", they wrote.

President Donald Trump said he had "total confidence" in his Treasury secretary.

When a commentator criticised her for using taxpayers' money for the getaway, Ms Linton responded telling the woman to "chill out".

Mnuchin and his wife, Louise Linton, faced backlash for the trip after Linton posted a photo of her exiting the jet on Instagram, with hashtags identifying the various high-end designers she was wearing.

"Aw! Did you think this was a personal trip?!" (Linton later apologized for her reaction after making her account private, calling her response "condescending").