please welcome the united states secretary of the interior, ryan zinke. sec. zinke: thanks, mike.a beautiful day, as it was that fateful morning. we all remember 9/11 somewhat differently. for me, i was a seal instructor in coronado, and that fateful morning, i knew that our country would be forever changed. and as i was with the cabinet members on saturday, looking at hurricane irma and planning the recovery of harvey and looking at the forest fires in the west, the vice president and i had a conversation about his experience as he was standing on the steps of our nation's capitol. and so, the heroism and courage of the 40 passengers and crew is special, because it was their actions that protected our nation. sec. zinke: i have fought in a lot of battles in my life, and truly, their fight was worth fighting for. i'm grateful for this vice president because he has continued the fight against evil. his family has continued the fight against evil. as a son, as a first marine, our first lieutenant in the marine corps trained to be a pilot, his -- trained to be a pilot. his father, wh

an zinke was sworn in as the 52nd secretary of the interior in march of this year.th generation from montana and former united states navy seal commander, secretary zinke has conservation, forest management, responsible energy development and smart management of federal lands, growing up in a logging and rail town near glacier national park, he has had a lifelong appreciation for conserving america's natural beauty and public spaces. secretary zinke enlisted in the navy in 1985 and was soon selected to join the elite force, where he would build an honorable career until his retirement in 2008. he retired with the rank of commander after leading seal operations across the globe including several as the deputy and acting commander of joint special forces in iraq and two tours at seal team six. he was the first navy seal elected to the united states house of representatives and is the first seal to serve as a cabinet secretary. secretary zinke leads an agency with more than 70,000 employees, who are the stewards for 20% of our nation's lands including wildlife refuges,

it ended at ryan zinke's house in montana. and taxpayers paid for that to be a private jet flight on an oil executive's plane. secretary zinke has also charged taxpayers to pay for his private jet flights to republican fund raisers and then there were the multiple private jet flights he charged to taxpayers for flights to and around the u.s. virgin islands. you know, to be fair, that's the kind of one where you think, okay, that may make sense. we know how hard hit the u.s. virgin islands were by the hurricanes, but actually, no, in this case, ryan zinke charged taxpayers for private jet flights to and from and around the virgin islands in march! way before the hurricanes, when everything was fine. in fact, what he did there was go on a snorkeling tour. which the taxpayers paid to fly him through on a chartered private jet! and with ryan zinke, again, could have seen this coming. they decided they did not mind that official report on him from his time in the navy when he got in big trouble in the navy because he, according to

you mentioned ryan zinke, steven mnuchin.thers in the president's cabinet that are under scrutiny for similar problems. the dollar amount is not as high, but you wonder, in the wake of this decision, if this sets a precedent. >> it was the volume of this that dated. you're going to occasionally need to travel. there may be an important function for somebody outside the national security apparatus where they need to be someplace for something important, and the only way to get there is either a military plane or a charter. but that is a rare occasion, particularly the private charter question, for people who are not in the national security part of the government. the only good news out of this is, this is probably going to cause every cabinet official for the rest of the time the donald trump is in the white house to say, i'd better be real careful about this issu issue. but the downside is, we've lost a very important member of the president's cabinet who has played a vital role in framing the president's response in repeali

secretary of the interior, ryan zinke and his wife lola.l schuster representing pennsylvania's 9th district and congressman keith rockfis and mike reynolds. and finally to our many federal, state and local representatives and partners, thank you for your continuous contributions in keeping alive the memory of the passengers and crew of flight 93. at this time will you please rise for the singing of our national anthem performed by the united states air force. ♪ o say, can you see by the dawn's early light ♪ ♪ what so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming? ♪ ♪ whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight ♪ ♪ o'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming? ♪ ♪ and the rockets' red glare the bombs bursting in air ♪ ♪ gave proof through the night that our flag was still there ♪ ♪ oh, say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave ♪ ♪ o'er the land of the free ♪ ♪ and the home of the brave? ♪ [ applause ] >>> please remain standing as the reverend paul briten, brother of passenger marion r.britton leads us

interior secretary ryan zinke the talked about the trump administration policies aimed at increasing domestic energy production. he addressed reports he had taken multiple trips in private planes and air travel since becoming secretary. posted by the heritage foundation, this is just over 30 minutes. >> good morning, ladies and

interior secretary ryan zinke he talks about the trump administration policies and increasing domestic energy production. he also addressed reports that planes.private this is just over 30 minutes. since becoming secretary. this is over 30 minutes. >> good morning, ladies and gentlemen. auditorium.ur welcome back to the heritage foundation. where always delighted to have you and we are ur first major policy address here at heritage and we look forward to hearing from you. zinke was sworn in as the 52nd secretary in january of this year. -- had one of the records on regulatory relief, forest management, responsible energy development and smart management of federal lands. prior to assuming his current job am a he served in the u.s. house of representatives. before that in the montana state senate. in 23 years as a u.s. navy seal officer. he grew up near glacier national park where he delivered -- developed a lifelong appreciation for conserving america's natural beauty while honoring teddy roosevelt's vision of multiple use of our public lands. he is considered -- has consistently in th

some news on secretary zinke. during the speech addressed reports of excessive travel on charter flights. some news on that, the "washington post" writes today, injury secretary ryan zinke chartered to fly from las vegas to near his home in montana border point out what oil and gas executives interval documents show. the flight along with private flights during a trip to the virgin islands could propel him into the growing debate over the cost of travel by cabinet secretaries, some of whom have chosen extensive charter jets and military planes at high expense to taxpayers over the cheaper option of flying commercial. the flight cost taxpayers $12,375 according to into your department spokeswoman. commercial flights run daily between those two airports and charge as little as $300. that today from the "washington post." join us tomorrow for the march for racial justice taking place in washington. african-american and indigenous groups to march from capitol hill asked the justice department to the national mall for

interior secretary ryan zinke the talked about the trump administration policies aimed at increasing domestic energy production. he addressed reports he had taken multiple trips in private planes and air travel since becoming secretary. posted by the heritage foundation, this is just over 30 minutes. >> good morning, ladies and gentlemen. welcome to our auditorium. mr. secretary good morning, ladd gentlemen. , welcome back to the heritage foundation. we are always delighted to have youand we are honored decided to give your first major policy address at heritage, and we look forward to hearing from you. secretary ryan zinke he was sworn in as the you decided to give your first major policy address at 52nd secretary of the interior on march 1 of this year. fifth-generation montanan, former u.s. navy seal commander, became one of the strongest track records in the 114th congress on champion sports access, conservation, regulatory relief, forest management, responsible energy development, and smart management of federal land. prior to assuming his current job, he served in the u.s. hous

interior secretary ryan zinke and top republicans are demanding an investigation and mary bruce on how much of your money taxpayer dollars has been spent and the questions now mounting tonight. >> reporter: as he boarded air force one tonight, it sounded like the president had made up his mind about health secretary tom price. >> i'm disappointed in him. he's a good man, but i'm disappointed in him. >> reporter: just minutes before, abc's jon karl asked the president if price was going to last. >> you'll make a decision about whether or not to fire price today? >> probably sometime today. >> i'm not happy, okay? >> reporter: by the time the president landed in new jersey, price was out. a senior white house source tells abc news the president asked the secretary to resign, and he did. the pressure had been building for days after reports price took more than two dozen work trips on luxury private jets. >> we have heard concerns. i have heard the criticisms. clearly we weren't sensitive to the taxpayer which is why i've taken the actions i've taken. >> reporter: those flights cost taxpa

ryan zinke makes a fair point. there is reason for responsible use of those government planes. he said he was fully approved to do so. >> well, of course. federal officials need to get to the sites of their jurisdiction and a speedy manner. they cannot be hopping commercial flights just like the rest of us americans do for all of their issues. the thing that is needed here is context. and a little bit of clarity. $51,053 is not used when it comes down to taxpayer dollars to getting a federal official to his or her duty station at the appointed time. what is bigger cause for concern is frivolous spending. if you want an example of that, go back to barack obama and what judicial watch calculated, $85 million spent on eight years of barack obama family vacations in that short period of time. >> sandra: john roberts went about the fact in the use of those planes compared to where the obama administration was in their first year of office. fair enough. we are going to leave it there. thank you to you both. >> thank you. >> sandra: the state department/their staff in cuba after so-ca

now ryan zinke is being added to the list for rye vat flights he took to his hometown. respect senator chuck grassley said he plans to hold the white house responsible asking the president to detail what steps the administration has taken to insure cabinet secretaries use fiscally responsible travel. >> now adding to secretary price's travel woes politic co is reporting an additional half million in military flights internationally. that's not necessarily wrong, but he now has to defend spending more than $1 million of tax payer funds to those investigators. >> thanks lana. >> in the meantime the white house has reportedly launched an internal investigation into the use of private e-mail by top officials in the administration. politic co reports jared kushner and ivanka trump's use of private e-mails for businesses are the focus of interest. a spokesperson did not respond to our request for comment. >> president trump is calling the tax reform plan a once in a general operation opportunity insisting the middle class not wealthy will benefit. he said rich americans like

members using it in nstances at great cost to taxpayer when is it wasn't seemingly necessary. - -- zinke mming note, is speaking today at 11:30 this he'll be talking about energy and energy development. california,fremont, democrat's line. you are on, go ahead. caller: i have a question. i want to tell you about an experience. s a child, my dad was in the naf and he we flew on military flights. putting a ber my dad blanket over me because it was cold in the plane. is, do other government agencies pay for flights? census bureau one time and nay through me from be fornia to seattle to trained. i know they do it somewhat, but also?ers do it guest: short answer is yes, lots of different agencies take existence of military aircraft and use it. there are different rules that to military ample, personnel and families. when they are essentially itching a right on an already scheduled flight, very different circumstances.nt rights can be given at no is tional cost if the plane going from point a to point b, that may have been what your were awas doing when you child. that is perfectly appropriate

. >> this time it's interior secretary ryan zinke accused of using private planes and military jets that cost tax payers $12,000. lana zak joins us from washington d.c. lana, good morning. >> good morning. happy friday. president trump says he's not happy with reports that some of his cabinet secretaries are spending excess amounts of tax payer funds on private jets. now the house oversight committee is demanding answers asking all 24 agencies to account for travel since inauguration. >> reporter: this morning health and human services secretary tom price's job is on the line. the president on msnbc made no defense after a string of health care reform defeats. price is adding a new embarrassment to the white house excessive luxury flights at the expense of the american tax payer. last night price tried to defend his 26 private charter flights on fox news. >> my respect for the tax payer is as strong as it can be. there will be no private air charters at hhs going forward. >> reporter: even calling for an investigation of his own controversy. >> i called for an internal review within the

zinke, one-term member. tom price is the one ten years ago railing against this stuff. it was like -- it was obvious hypocrisy. >> and really -- feels like he just got caught up in the culture of this administration. >> what it feels like. >> i think the president sent a message today that he doesn't necessarily really think this dee behavior is bad. >> said optics. >> doesn't like when out in public is caught. >> i want to push back on pruitt. you seem like you're not -- >> i know the lawyer at hhs, the spokesperson, personal staff of the secretary. i want bobby jindal, something with big brains to come in, big problems with health care, not sabotaged. didn't work from the beginning. jerry rigged, falling apart. bush back on pruitt. studied about him, interested in the epa. my son works there. those four trips approved by the gc, going to the bottom of oklahoma in one to meet with stakeholders president obama never cared about. wetland people, the water of the united states rollback. by all means throw attention on that. i think, though, going forward the white house h

zinke: thank you for being a champion of conservative values and also for hiring my good friend kelly simpson. before we get started i would like to address in the words of general towards cough, a little on travel. i want to read a statement for you so you have it. i believe taxpayers absolutely have the right to know official travel costs. it is common sense. at the department we make those documents and my travel schedule available to everyone. using tax dollars wisely and ethically is our greatest responsibility and is at the heart of good government. there are times, however, we have to utilize charter services because we often travel in areas that are under circumstances that we do not have other flight options. i fly coach. since being sworn in, i have used a charter on three occasions. the first occasion was being invited on a bipartisan congressional delegation by the senate energy and natural resources committee in the arctic circle. know, the alaskan senator, lisa murkowski is the chair and i find her company and her invitation to be consistent with the department of interi

steve, scott pruitt, ryan zinke and david shulkin under fire for their swanky travel as well.uilded trump cabinet doing the spending but the trump kids annual aspen, the fancy vacation cost some $300,000. joining us down, the opinion writer for the "washington post" and msnbc contributor and politics reporter for the daily beast. so, you know, jonathan, this is an administration that's come in saying they were going to go after waste, fraud, abuse, we can't afford food stamps. can't afford health care. they live high on the hog. did tom price pay the price for living too well on the public dime or your view, was it living too high in the public dime plus health care didn't pass? >> it's that, but also, the other thing you left out, getting bad headlines that reflected poorly on the president. we have a president who cares only about what his headlines are and so a couple of days ago, joy, i tweeted out, let's be clear here. president trump is not upset by what secretary price did. he's upset by the negative press caused by what secretary price did, and so with all the people t

, one from nevada to an airport near zinke's home in montana reportedly cost taxpayers $12,000.: ellison barber in washington, thank you. >> i want the entire corrupt washington establishment to hear and heath the words that we, not me, we have to say. when we win on november 8th, we are going to washington, d.c. and we are going to drain the swamp. [cheers and applause] kelly: those words could be coming back to haunt president trump this week as some of his top officials came under fire for using taxpayer money to pay for chartered jets. let's bring in neil, white house columnist for the hill. thank you for joining us today. we have just seen the report about tom price and arguably we say the president can't be blamed for tom price's actions and decisions to use taxpayer dollars to fund private -- flights on private jets. but nevertheless, once still looks thank that campaign slogan, drain the swamp and it seems the swamp is becoming more mirky. what do you say? >> i think that's absolutely right. i think draining the swamp is one of those things that's easier said than done.

treasury secretary steve mnuchin, epa administrator scott pruitt, and ryan zinke all under scrutiny. today, zinke firing back. >> i'd just like to address in the words of jen schwartz cop, a little b.s. on travel. >> reporter: zinke says his agency did extensive due diligence before taking three charter flights as well as a military flight. the cost of the private jets, at least $15,000. >> using tax dollars wisely and ethically is the greatest responsibility and is at the good heart of good government. and there are times, however, we have to utilize charter services because we often travel in areas and under circumstances that we don't have other flight options. >> reporter: the question of whether there were other options is at the heart of some of the internal probes. a source tells cnn the treasury inspector general is now focusing on the process of approving travel and whether some flimsy excuses are being used to justify costly travel. well, there are a total of three inspector general probes happening right now focused on trump cabinet members' travel. the president has calle

according to reports today, so is interior secretary ryan zinke and veterans affairs secretary davidchulken. secretary zinke's includes a $12,000 charter flight to take him to events in his hometown in montana and flights between two caribbean island ss. david schulken had a ten-day trip to europe funded at least in part. he and his wife spent about half their time sightseeing including shopping and touring historic spots. lucky to have dan diamond here of politico. how deep does this go? how wide does this go? misuse of federal planes? government planes misuse of private charter flights when you can take a train ride to philly. you can take the amtrak. splurge a little. put them in first class even. chartering a plane is a bit more. >> i went to college in philly. and i did that drive over and over. it's only 90 minutes, two hours down to baltimore/d.c. once you start pulling on this thread it's clear the controls have not been there across these different agencies. whether that's because they shredded some of the career staff whom have these positions still to fill or the politicos

reports this morning also say interior secretary rye zinke and a ades have taken flights. very busy draining that swamp. >> also jared kushner did not disclose the use of his personal e-mail account during a private interview with the senate intelligence staff. they used the account for official government business. they sent a letter telling him to double-check that he has turned over every relevant document. >> meantime politico says they have announced an internal investigation into the e-mail use. cnn has not confirmed that reporting. >> to repopuerto rico now. flash flood warning. acting homeland security secretary elaine duke travels to puerto rico today. she will meet with the governor and fema officials to discuss response efforts. the there's widespread confusion surrounding the delivery of life saving supplies. >> according to the governor of puerto rico, there are 3,000 containers stuck in ports, some may not be related to kurk hurricane relief, earlier cnn had been told buy shipping officials as many as 10,000 containers were stuck. >> the pentagon has just app

julie: ryan zinke has also employed private charter flights. off, says it was a little -- on travel that he has gotten flack on this. say, does they's white house have to force his resignation, as well? alex: it is a great question, and we do not know. we have not heard the president thielen up the heat on zinke like he has on tom price for abusing the taxpayer's trust. zinkeflights were more limited. took a charter flight between a couple of the virgin island after the storm hit. he took a charter flight up to his home in montana, from reno or las vegas. is definitely not as egregiously using charter travel as price. joe: are there policies about this in terms of when these people get these roles as cabinet secretaries, do they get a set of guidelines that say, you can and cannot fly this way? alex: we do not know exactly what happened in this administration. in the obama administration, yes, there were guidelines. the former health the secretary told us a couple days ago that she was required to fly commercial, unless the flights were 12 hour

secretary of the interior ryan zinke has quit playing games my heart and is now playing video games. was a back street boys joke for those of you who aren't a mom in her 40s. zinke installed the game that features plastic guns that can be used to shoot animated deer and cups to can used for beer and whiskey. it's so popular they are installing the board game operation to raise awareness to the fact we'll all be operating on ourselves if we don't fix obamacare soon. i will give a spleenectomy after whiskey. an ohio man is lucky to be alive after attempting to scare his daughter. he wanted to discipline his naughty daughter so he put on a clown makes from the movie "it." and chased her down the street. just like it says to do in the parenting handbook. the girl ran into a neighbor's apartment and told him the story. the man pulled out a gun and shot at the girl's dad causing him to remove the mask and identify himself. you might wonder why the neighbor tieblght so far. but in his defense. he tried calling the cops, but they were busy. it's so nice to see someone sing a back street song

in the morning, secretary of interior ryan zinke he will talk about the trump administration's domestic energy agenda. we will take you live to the heritage foundation for that. then, the ranking member of the senate armed services committee will look at the president's approach to dealing with north korea, russia, and iran. we will bring you that live at 12:30 p.m. eastern. >> the think people remember about him is his distinctive facial hair. q&a,nday night on journalist scott greenberger on his book, the unexpected resident, the life of chester a arthur. >> i think he recognized he wasn't all a fight for the job. he ended up on the ticket right accident, surprised to be there, never imagined he would be president of the united states and that he is on the threshold of office. >> sunday night at 8:00 eastern on c-span's q&a. fromw, we will hear congressman kevin brady. he outlines the key roles for his party's text. -- tax proposal.

ryan zinke.ke called the alaskan senators to tell them that the vote had put alaska's future with the administration in jeopardy. oh, come on! you can't scare alaskans. their state motto is "if you have to, eat the dogs." ( laughter ) ( applause ) so-- i think that's true. it's in latin. it sounds better in latin. so trump sent one of his goons to threaten people who cross him. this administration is like organized crime, except for the organized part. ( cheers and applause ) it's "not very good at this fellas." i don't know. i can't tell. is donald trump really willing to throw an entire state under the bus just because his feelings are hurt? jimmy, could we look at the white house today? can we zoom in on that flag? oh, that does not look good. that does not look good. puerto rico, polish up your resume. this might be your shot! ( laughter ) now, the one person in washington trump has really givin' the executive swirly to this week is attorney general and pixie watching you have sex from behind

treasury secretary steve mnuchin, epa director scott pruitt and epa director ryan zinke. >> zinke says his agency did extensive due diligence before taking thee charter flights as well as a military flight. the cost of the private jets, at least $15,000. >> using tax dollars wisely and ethically is a greatest responsibility and at the good heart of a good government. and there are times, however, we have to utilize charter services because we often travel in areas and under circumstances that we don't have other flight options. >> the question of whether there were other options is at the heart of some of the internal probes. a source tells cnn the treasury inspector general is now focusing on the on process of approving travel and whether some flemsy excuses are being used to justify costly travel. >> renee marsh reporting there. u.s. secretary of state rex tillerson has arrived in beijing for top level talks with chinese officials. he's expected to meet with president xi jinping in the coming hours. on the agenda, trade and investment as well as the increasing tensions with north kor

interior secretary ryan zinke he on the president domestic agenda. rhode island senator jack reed on the president's foreign policy. in one hour, a look at the republican tax proposal, the budget and health care with american action forum president. for or reagan studies edwin melendez talks about the need for recovery. and then common cause paul seamus ryan talks about travel f rules. "washington journal" is next. ♪ the ripple effects of russia's interference in the 2016 presidential election continues with testimony yesterday on capitol hill from twitter executives saying they had closed accounts linked to russia. to hear more from twitter, facebook, and the washington journal. we would like to focus on russia's interference and your confidence in the u.s. election system, asking you how concerned

you've got three more officials there, scott pruett, ryan zinke, and steve mnuchin under the spotlightor their use of private aircraft. how concerned are you that this is more than an isolated incident with tom price? >> i'm not saying what tom did was right, but i've known tom to be honest and hard working guy. the optics are not good and we want to be resourceful with every taxpayer dollar coming to washington d.c. this brings us to the point why we're trying to cut taxes. i think that people locally can spend money lot better than washington d.c. we kind of get lost. when we don't earn it, we don't appreciate it as much as those that earn the dollars and when washington d.c. gets a whole lot of money sent there, it tend know the to be as personal as spending your own money and that's why we want to do the tax cuts and get them back in the local government. leland: well, fair to say that if you're going to cut taxes, you've got to cut spending at some point because there's less money to spend. >> sure. leland: quickly, on this point though, do you feel as though congress needs to hol

and with ryan zinke, could have seen this coming. southerns apparently decided they did not mind that official report on him from his time in the navy when he got in big trouble in the navy because he, according to the navy, had fiddled expenses to get the government to pay for his personal travel. i mean, if you decide you don't care about ethics issues like that when you nominate people to things, you get headlines like this. once those people are in office. you get behavior like this. and you can just keep going on this same theme. this really is a very deep, deep theme in this new administration. there is also trump's treasury secretary who famously requested a $25,000 an hour military flight for his european honeymoon. he didn't get it. he did have to settle for flying his new bride on a military jet that expensive to kentucky to fort knox where the publication coin world reports, the happy couple inspected the gold but there is more. there is also trump's veteran's affairs chief and wife who taxpayers apparently paid to send on

cabinet secretary zinke and scott pruett, it's these kinds of stories. it's not just price. it's several others. it is not tolerable for the drain the swamp voter. >> even before this came out on, tom price had basically become an invisible person in the health care debate. he was seen as helpful getting that bill through the house. when it came to the senate, he was involved july. that failed to push. he got flack from senators and governors who felt like he was not delivering honest, reliable, persuasive data. >> so very quickly, we just need to talk about another person in the president's inner circle, jared kushner using, as it turns out, private e-mail. i wish we had a sound effect for hypocrisy alert. we need the bell to ring. how is this going to go over? >> i mean, this is not good, right? it looks like it's something they're trying to hide. his lawyers say, no, with looked into the e-mail account. we didn't think it was there. no problem. we will disclose whatever you want. the fact that they weren't fully forth coming at the outset when the administration tried to

ryan zinke defined. >> in the words of general schwartz cop a little bs. >> agreeing to three census confirmations. veterans affairs secretary, "the washington post" said taxpayers paid for him and his wife to fly to europe and take in the sights. writing i expect this will result in decreased employee travel and generate savings. the director of the office writing a letter to the heads of all federal agencies reminding them every dime they spend is the taxpayers's. >> former maricopa county sheriff joe arpaio said he is not a racist and said he didn't ask for president trump to pardon him, but he is not guilty and the real story will come out soon. he said that he believes a border wall will stop drug traffic from coming into the country. >>> geologists say the danger of a rock fall at yosemite is no greater than usual. one climber was killed and two injured after two sides at el capitan on wednesday and thursday. the one yesterday involved a slab of rock the size of a 36 stor building. it was many times the size of the one on wednesday that killed someone. the rubble broke through

zinke today called criticism of his flights, quote, a little bs. >> every time i travel, i submit the travel plan to the ethics department that evaluates it line by line, to make sure that i'm above the law. and i follow the law. >> make sure that i am above the law, interesting phrasing. that brings us to the secretary of the treasury, steve mnuchin. they're now investigating a flight on an air force jet where he and his wife toured a view of the solar eclipse. he also requested the military to fly them on their entire european honeymoon, over ten days, he later pulled that request. and there was another flight to europe, viewing castles, attending the wimbledon championship, in between official government duties. this all looks really bad and you'd be forgiven for wondering what on earth are these guys thinking? maybe they're thinking about their boss and where he is at this very minute. that's next. don't go away. >> we're going to get rid of the waste, fraud, abuse. all of the waste, the disgusting waste and fraud. there is going to be tremendous fraud, waste abuse. >> there is tr

this time, against interior secretary ryan zinke. "washington post" reporting he and staffers tried in a plane for $12,000 to fly from las vegas to montana. today, zinke pushed back. >> all of this travel was done only after determined by multiple career professionals at the department that no commercial options existed to meet the promulgated schedule. >> the interior department noted the plane was chartered through a company on contract with the federal government. the epa administrator scott pruitt also contesting reports that he spent $58,000 on four charter flights, noting that travel was approved by agency lawyers. >> i want to divulge any personal conversations i had with the president. but he won't have it. >> since hhs secretary's interview on, that he flew military craft to -- million dollars since may. >> we have to demand good judgment from our cabinet members. >> treasury secretary steven mnuchin under a inspector general's investigation for a flight to kentucky with his wife yesterday vowed never again. >> i can promise

zinke said this story is a little bit bs. do you think the other cabinet secretaries should resign as well? >> i think that they definitely have to begin figuring out whether they're going to be an administration of the people -- and we talked about this last night -- >> you called it a culture. >> or, i think that was van that said that, but i did amen that. or one that's elitist. donald trump is the king of wasting taxpayer dollars. i talked about the golf course issue yesterday. he continues to go to his golf courses. the amount of money that has been spent on secret service protection is astronomical and ridiculous. they have to start at the top. it's not just the cabinet secretaries. they're following their leaders. >> one thing you mentioned that the president may concern about the optics of this. i don't think it's the optics as it is ongoing cavalier attitudes by cabinet members about privileged use of taxpayer dollars. they're public servants, not members of the royal family. i think we have, as you mentioned, right

ryan zinke defiant with the revelation he spend $300,000 on flights. >> it to express a little bs on travel. >> no commercial options existed to meet the prom you will -- promulgated schedule. just one month he issued a memo telling employees to review their own travel procedures, i expect this will result in decreased employee travel and generate savings. scott pruit is under investigation for installation a $5,000 phone booth in his office. mary bruce, abc news, the white house. >> 9:23 a.m., if you're just waking up with us, we are turning to the growing crisis in puerto rico. pictures in the air showing how widespread the damage is there, every part of the island has been impacted. many neighborhoods are destroyed and people have no power or water, food is scarce. a three star general on the ground and he says more help is needed. the mayor of san juan lashing out at homeland security secretary elaine duke praising the federal response to the crisis. >> it's a good news story in terms of our ability to reach people and the limited number of deaths that have taken place in the hur

. >> and this morning new questions have emerged about the interior secretary, ryan zinke's travel expenses as well. documents have been uncovered showing he and his aides have taken several private and military flights, including one to his home in montana, that one costing taxpayers $12,000. >>> and the white house impact on the federal deficit, but the economic adviser says it would save the average family about $1,000 a year, boosting the economy. >> if we allow the family to keep another $1,000 of their income, what does that mean? they could renovate the kitchen, buy a new car, take a family vacation. >> the "new york times" reports one family that stands to benefit from the plan is actually the trump family, based on the president's 2005 tax return, the president could save more than $1 billion for him and his family under the proposed changes. >>> now into the investigation of russian interference, a senator is criticizing twitter saying the company's response to the probe has been inadequate. getter says about 200 accounts were link the to russian propaganda targeting voters. about

ryan zinke he used a charter airplane for several flights, including a $12,000 trip to deliver a speechelebrating a new professional hockey team in las vegas. scott pruitt, of the environmental protection agency, spend more than $58,000 unchartered and military flight, david chilton, he took his wife on a 10 day trip to europe. he had business meetings and sightseeing according to the washington post. steven mnuchin asked about using a $25,000 per hour military plane for his european honeymoon and later used a government jet to fly to fort knox in kentucky in august. it gave him a clear view of the solar eclipse, though he later said he was not interested. on the phone, you cover the white house for bloomberg news. thank you for joining us. guest: good morning. thingso you think whatever turned out differently for tom price, had he been effective in helping repeal and replace the affordable care act as republicans had tried and failed several times on the hill to do? guest: yes, one way to look at this is the situation with jeff sessions. president trump was very unhappy with jeff sessi

you've got the price and the issue of a couple of other cabinet secretaries, pruitt and zinke and the president of the united states off spending hundreds of thousand of dollars golfing and protecting the president's kids who had a $300,000 ski vacation. we don't have enough money to help the people of prv puerto rico. we have plenty of money to get the people of the trump administration out in style often with their wives and families. >> and i think a lot of people are going to -- joan, draw a distin distinction when it comes to the first family. all right, maybe we'll raise an eyebrow at that. >> right. >> but we'll have to deal with it and we have a history of dealing with this and maybe they'll crack down in the future but when it cox -- when it comes to cabinet members an taking d.c. to philadelphia, private jets, why would this happen with career folks that in a system where they know they are going to get busted. >> and when he was in the house, was always railing at nancy pelosi for her use of private or military planes so it is not like it was a brand-new issue where this ne

. >> politico has uncovered documents showing interior secretary ryan zinke and some of his aides took12,000. >> and now tom price is apologizing for his use and promising to pay back taxpayers. >> some republicans are now demanding an investigation. abc's cecelia vega has details. >> reporter: a top senate republican is demanding answers, asking why president trump's cabinet secretaries are flying on private jets and government planes on the taxpayers' dime. it comes as health secretary tom price is now apologizing for taking more than two dozen work trips on luxury jets. >> i've heard the concerns. i've heard the criticisms. clearly we've got -- we're sensitive to the taxpayer. on these instances, where i is why i've taken the actions i've taken today. >> reporter: and he says the taxpayer won't spend a dime on those planes. but surprise sent more than $400,000 in taxpayer money on those flights. and it turns out he's only reimbursing the government for the cost of his own seat, $51,887.31. price is a multi-millionaire, and his job is now on the line. >> will you fire him, sir? >> re

steve mnuchin, scott pruitt and ryan zinke. and four, this is drain the swamp? president trump, do you think they did didn't get the memo? i have a great team here to break all of it down starting with kristen welker. let's break it down for a moment. price's decision to pay back some of the money, hold on a second, the planes were chartered for him. the other people who were on the plane, they were getting a ride. how could he possibly back door this into saying i'm going to cover my seat? this wasn't a jetblue flight to l.a. >> reporter: look, he is clearly in damage control mode. no doubt about that. and it's not clear that he will hold on to his job. of course president trump earlier this week said we'll see when he was asked that question. and then yesterday you saw him decline to answer if he still has confidence in secretary price. now, secretary price said yesterday he believes the president does have confidence in him, but there is an ig report under way investigation looking into all of this. sarah huckabee sanders certainly didn't give price any reass