How is this for a scandal?

Fox Digital reports that Transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg has chartered a military jet for his trip to an international sports event:

EXCLUSIVE: Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg traveled to Europe on a military aircraft to attend the Fifth Invictus Games with his husband [sic] Chasten Buttigieg last spring, according to an internal calendar reviewed by Fox News Digital.

On April 15, Buttigieg traveled from Joint Base Andrews to Rotterdam, Netherlands, via "MilAir Flight" before returning two days later on military aircraft, the calendar obtained by Americans for Public Trust (APT) and shared with Fox News Digital showed. According to photos from the event and media reports, the transportation secretary traveled to the Netherlands with his husband.

This is indeed a scandal, as well as a hypocrisy-fest, for multiple reasons.  He couldn't take commercial for a project like that, if for nothing else, then to demonstrate that commercial flights are operating smoothly?  Sure, he's going as an official, but he should have waited for a government jet for his undoubtedly huge delegation, not snap his fingers at the military for quick service to him and the man he calls his husband, or get the roundheels Bidenite White House to sign off on his many trips on private jets. 

Fox noted that President Trump's former Health and Human Services secretary, Tom Price, was forced out of his job for the exact same kind of travel, jumping on military jets, taking the spouse along, as well as taking private planes around the country, for which he billed the government.

Remember this?

Here's a huffily outraged CBS report on the Price exit, dated Sept. 27, 2017:

Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Tom Price is out of a job amid intense scrutiny for his use of private charter planes.

Price "offered his resignation earlier today and the president accepted," a statement by White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Friday afternoon. The president intends to designate Don J. Wright to serve as acting secretary, the statement went on to say. He's currently deputy assistant HHS secretary.

Price's tenure in the Trump administration lasted less than eight months. 

Trump did seem to have a role in ousting Price for this jet travel matter, which outraged Democrats, but the CBS report suggested that the real reason for the Price ouster was that Trump was unhappy about Price's inability to persuade Congress to get rid of Obamacare. 

In other words, he didn't do the job Trump hired him for.

How's Pete Buttigieg doing as Transportation secretary, keeping the skies friendly?

He's been AWOL for years now, first on the supply chain shortage, which includes a critical baby formula shortage that's worsening, and now the huge airline travel snarls, which has led to flight delays and passenger frustrations.  The only thing Buttigieg has done on that has been to blame the airlines themselves for the hellish conditions he failed to correct.  He hasn't made anyone's life easier on jet travel, which is now a miserable experience.  He's just made sure he hasn't had to endure any of it by using those convenient military aircraft at his beck and call. 

What's Joe Biden's attitude on that?  Any possibility Joe Biden would ever fire Buttigieg for the military jet misuse for trivial things like sports events, the way President Trump effectively fired Price?

No, because Biden doesn't particularly care if anyone in his Cabinet does his job — not if it makes the lives of consumers and taxpayers easier, at least.  Based on Biden's record in the White House on multiple matters, that's not a priority.

So Pete will jet and jet, as he is now doing, commissioning the military to get him to the Netherlands with his partner in full comfort and convenience, the military now at his beck and call.

Tom Price was required to repay the government for his wife's travel on those jets.  Is Chasten paying back the government for the same perk?  Be nice if Fox or someone decided to find out.

But even if Joe lets this misuse of military aircraft for personal and trite government reasons go on because, well, he's Incompetent Joe, the other problem is the hypocrisy of the matter.

Fox News linked to a stellar Dec. 12 broadcast segment on its Outnumbered show, led by host Kennedy (clickable only here), pointing out the greenie pieties of Buttigieg and his rampant use of private and government jets, putative husband in tow, for various travel odysseys of no government-business importance whatsoever, not deigning to fly commercial, which is regulated by his own policies and made hellish as a result.  He's a bit like the social media barons who refuse to open social media accounts, or the Pfizer employees who refuse to take Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine, both on the grounds that they know too much about it.

Buttigieg wants us out of our cars and out of our commercial jets, taking public transportation, shelling out $70K for electrical vehicles, or riding bikes as the greenie alternatives, but he reserves private and military jet travel for himself, having taken more than 18 trips on those comfy transport arrangements, with no delays at the airports, no Democrat luggage thieves to worry about, no lunatics having meltdowns in coach, no TSA agents demanding removal of shoes, no cramped legroom.

Hypocrite much, Pete?

Fox points out that he could be using these trips on the government dime as disguised campaign opportunities, given his presidential ambitions.

If so, it's one more reason for the incoming House in Congress to pull the plug on this, investigating just what those un-green trips were done for and how many relatives and cronies benefited from them as well.  Buttigieg has mastered the art of hypocrisy while in office and taken many questionable trips.  Let him be known for that, given that he wants to take away every semblance of affordable and comfortable travel for the rest of us.

Image: PxHere, CC0 public domain.