'Outnumbered' roasts Pete Buttigieg for using taxpayer-funded private jets despite stance on carbon emissions
‘Outnumbered’ panel reacts to flight data reports on Pete Buttigieg using taxpayer-funded private jets while advocating for reducing carbon emissions
White House Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was roasted for climate hypocrisy after flight data revealed he flew on taxpayer-funded jets while advocating for the need to reduce carbon emissions.
"Shouldn't anyone who espouses that hyper-moralism in terms of environmentalism, shouldn't they be the ones who have to live the most stringent lives in terms of keeping themselves from enjoying luxuries like private plane travel?," FOX Business host Kennedy asked on "Outnumbered" Monday.
Buttigieg, an advocate of increased government action to curb carbon emissions, has taken at least 18 flights using taxpayer-funded private jets since taking office, Fox News Digital has learned.
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Pete Buttigieg, US transportation secretary, speaks during a news conference at the Memphis International Airport (MEM) in Memphis, Tennessee, US, on Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2022. Photographer: Lucy Garrett/Bloomberg via Getty Images (Lucy Garrett/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
"Walk the walk, man," "Outnumbered" co-host Emily Compagno responded. "It is ridiculous to me that our tax dollars are funding for someone to travel internationally to Canada to pick up an award for advancing LGBTQ rights. Why then wouldn't you, in your symbolism of advancement, take a commercial airline?"
"The notion that his holier-than-thou-ness is costing me? That's what I can't take," Compagno continued. "I would love for my tax dollars to stop paying for their hypocrisy."
Kennedy added jokingly, "I think he should have to ride his bicycle all across the country."
Douglass Society President Rob Smith suggested Buttigieg is focused on his presidential aspirations instead of his current White House duties due to his flights to key primary states like Florida, Ohio and New Hampshire.
"This is stuff that we see from the elites. You saw it with Nancy Pelosi's blowout during the lockdown, as we saw with Gavin Newsom's policies, like a $50,000 dinner. But when it comes to Buttigieg, you have to be clear and understand one thing: Buttigieg wants nothing more than to be America's first gay president," he said.
Former State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus made the case for investigations into the travel.
"I think the I.G. at the Transportation Department should do an investigation, should look and see if it's justified, because it is raising red flags that he's going to early primary states," Ortagus said.
"There's no reason why they can't investigate this" when the House GOP takes over the majority, she argued.
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Buttigieg has traveled both domestically and internationally using a private jet fleet managed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), according to flight tracking data reviewed by Fox News Digital. The flight records align with Buttigieg's schedule of external and public engagements obtained by government watchdog group Americans for Public Trust (APT).
Buttigieg's predecessor, Elaine Chao, who was appointed by former President Donald Trump, faced criticism for using the same jets on seven occasions in 2017, costing taxpayers nearly $94,000, Politico reported at the time. And Trump-appointed Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price was forced to resign after reportedly taking 26 private jet flights that same year, costing taxpayers about $1.2 million.
Fox News' Thomas Catenacci contributed to this report