U.S. taxpayers will likely be footing the bill for the majority of first lady Jill Biden’s cross-Atlantic travel where she traveled from France to the United States then back to France in less than 48 hours.
Last week she flew from Normandy to Delaware then back to France while she attended the D-Day ceremonies, her son Hunter Biden’s gun trial, and then a state visit at Élysée Palace in Paris.
The National Taxpayers Union Foundation says the trip is estimated to have cost taxpayers around $223,000 based on the use of a Boeing C-32 typically used for the first lady’s travel. The Air Force lists the reimbursable rate for use of the aircraft at $13,816 per hour.
Of that amount, the Democrat National Committee plans to reimburse the value of two first-class tickets for the two trips she made, a DNC spokesperson told ABC News, yet did not specify the precise amount. If the DNC pays the current market value of the tickets for both flights that would leave $209,690 left for taxpayers to cover.
For personal travel high ranking government officials are required to reimburse the government for “the full coach fare for all flights,” according to U.S. code.
“In accordance with relevant regulations utilized across administrations, the government has reimbursed the value of a first-class fare for these flights to Wilmington and back to Paris,” said Jill Biden’s office in a statement.
Consumer watchdog groups have criticized the lavish spending saying that it is a highly questionable use of taxpayer’s money particularly when the purpose involved attending Hunter Biden’s criminal trial.
“The White House should be more transparent about these costs so taxpayers aren’t taken for a ride,” said Demian Brady, Vice President of Research for the National Taxpayers Union Foundation.
The White House said Jill Biden’s travel were all a part of being a devoted mother and civil servant. “The back and forth, the push and pull, of family responsibilities, of first lady duties of her career, of the campaign — that’s just who she is,” said Elizabeth Alexander, the first lady’s communications director regarding her travels.
James Morley III ✉
James Morley III is a writer with more than two decades of experience in entertainment, travel, technology, and science and nature.
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