Pols demand Prez cabinet travel costs
HOUSE SPEAKER Paul Ryan made fun of a lot of people at Thursday’s Al Smith dinner, including himself, but he saved the best of his lighthearted barbs for President Trump.
“Enough with the applause, all right. You sound like the cabinet when Donald Trump walks into the room,” he told the crowd of about 815 at the Hilton in Midtown.
Gov. Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio sat near each other. De Blasio got a smattering of boos, when he was introduced.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen this many New York liberals, this many Wall Street CEOs in one room since my last visit to the White House,” Ryan joked.
The 72nd annual Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner was hosted by Timothy Cardinal Dolanand emceed by actress Patricia Heaton.Ryan also noted Trump’s social media use. “Every morning when I get to my office I scroll Twitter to see which tweets that I’ll have to pretend I did not see later on.”
He referenced the criticism of Trump by the press. “The truth is the press absolutely misunderstands and never records the big accomplishments of the White House,” Ryan said. “Look at all the new jobs the President has created. Just among the White House staff.”
With all the turmoil in Washington, the speaker said, “Every afternoon, former Speaker John Boehner calls me up, not to give advice, just to laugh.” WASHINGTON — A House committee is demanding that 15 federal agencies fully account for senior officials’ travel following reports of costly plane travel by Trump cabinet secretaries.
In letters sent this week, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee threatened to subpoena the Agriculture and Justice departments by the end of the month if officials fail to provide all the information requested on the use of government-owned aircraft for personal travel or private aircraft for official travel.
The panel said 13 other departments and agencies, including the White House, have only partly responded to its requests.
The House committee is investigating air travel following reports that Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price used pricey charters when cheaper commercial flights were available. Price resigned last month. That Sept. 26 request from the committee sought passenger names, destinations, explanations and cost of the governmentowned and private aircraft travel.
Travel details were initially due Oct. 10; the panel set a new deadline of Oct. 31.