Air Force Orders Review Of Stops At Trump Resorts
The United States Air Force ordered a review of how the air force provides overnight accommodations for crews following reports that air force members stayed in President Donald Trump’s Scotland resort.
The review comes after the Friday revelation that an Air National Guard crew stopped overnight at Trump‘s Turnberry resort in Scotland in September 2018 while en route to deliver supplies to Kuwait. The crew refueled the plane at Prestwick Airport in Glasgow and stayed overnight at the resort.
In the past, the C-17 crew stopped at U.S. military bases to refuel, where fuel is generally cheaper.
The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee sent a letter to Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan requesting documents about military spending at Turnberry and Prestwick Airport, where the military has spent about $11 million since October 2017, according to Oversight.
House Oversight Chair Elijah Cummings also sent letters in early September requesting information about Vice President Mike Pence’s stay at Trump’s Ireland resort.
Cummings sent the letters to the White House, U.S. Secret Service, the Trump Organization, acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney and Vice President Mike Pence’s Chief of Staff Marc Short.
“Initial reviews indicate that aircrew transiting through Scotland adhered to all guidance and procedures,” Air Force Brig. Gen. Ed Thomas told POLITICO.
“Lodging at higher-end accommodations, even if within government rates, might be allowable but not advisable,” Thomas added. “Therefore, we are reviewing all associated guidance.”
Thomas also said that even when USAF aircrews follow direction and guidance, the USAF must be considerate of “perceptions of not being good stewards of taxpayer funds that might be created through the appearance of aircrew staying at such locations.”
The USAF did not yet respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org
