PRICE APOLOGIZES FOR COSTLY CHARTER FLIGHTS

Fighting to keep his job, Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price said Thursday that he’d write a personal check to reimburse taxpayers for his travel on charter flights taken on government business and pledged to fly commercial — “no exceptions.”

The repayment — $51,887.31, according to Price’s office — covered only the secretary’s seat. Price did not address the overall cost of the flights, which could amount to at least several hundred thousand dollars and is under investigation.

“I regret the concerns this has raised regarding the use of taxpayer dollars,” Price said in a statement. “I was not sensitive enough to my concern for the taxpayer.”

JOSE LUIS MAGANA, AP House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., walks with his wife Jennifer, left, as he leaves the House chamber in the Capitol in Washington on Thursday.