Zinke spent more than $53K on 3 helicopter trips

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke spent more than $53,000 on three helicopter trips this summer, including one that allowed him to return to Washington in time for a horseback ride with Vice President Mike Pence, newly released records show. Records released by the Interior Department in response to a Freedom of Information Act request show Zinke spent more than $39,000 on a July helicopter tour above two national monuments in Nevada. Zinke was considering whether to recommend downsizing the sites.

He also spent $8,000 on a round trip to an emergency management exercise in Shepherdstown, W. Va., and $6,200 to and from Yorktown, Va., to tour a Revolutionary War battlefield and attend a boating industry round table. Zinke went horseback riding with Pence and other officials after returning from Virginia. The helicopter trips were first reported by Politico.

Zinke and other Cabinet members have faced questions about travel after Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price was forced to resign amid criticism for using costly chartered planes.

Zinke has dismissed the controversy as politically motivated “bull” and said all his travel has gone through proper review.

Washington Sen. Maria Cantwell, the top Democrat on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said the Interior’s inspector general should add Zinke’s use of taxpayerfunded helicopter rides to an ongoing investigation of his travel practices.