Staff for Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), known for his public stance against reckless federal spending, cost taxpayers nearly $18,000 on a private-jet trip other lawmakers' aides made for a fraction of the price, according to a new report.
Six aides working for Paul, then the top Republican on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, chartered a plane from Washington to Pittsburgh in the days following the assassination attempt against Donald Trump at a Butler, Pennsylvania rally in 2024, Politico reported Friday.
The $17,827 charter, billed through New Flight Solutions Inc., made up a substantial share of the committee's entire travel budget for that half-year period, well over one-sixth of it by Politico's tally.
Other committee staffers made the same trip for drastically less by driving or flying commercial. An aide to then-Chairman Gary Peters (D-MI) spent under $700. Staffers for the subcommittee's top Democrat and Republican spent roughly $900 and under $700, respectively. Two of Peters' senior staffers flew commercial to Pittsburgh for less than $400 each.
Paul spokesperson Drew Carmichael defended the charter.
"This was the most efficient and effective means for the entire investigative team to participate in the investigative activities that day and followed all Senate rules and regulations," Carmichael said.
But Congressional ethics experts aren't so sure.
Kedric Payne of the Campaign Legal Center said such spending "raises many questions," pointing out that while official travel funds can legally cover private flights, lawmakers rarely charter planes just for staff.
A former House investigative staffer and a former Trump administration official familiar with congressional travel logistics both told Politico they'd never seen anything like it, with one calling it "highly irregular."
It's not an isolated incident for Paul, according to the report.
Records reportedly show his personal Senate office has repeatedly booked private charters for in-state Kentucky travel, including a $24,371 flight touching multiple small cities in one trip and another costing roughly $19,000 combined for Paul and three staffers on a separate multi-stop itinerary.
Carmichael says the flights simply help Paul reach more constituents efficiently, and pointed out Paul has returned more than $9.2 million in unused office budget funds to the Treasury over the years.
Paul's campaign committee and leadership PAC have also spent more than $113,000 on private jets since 2012, part of a broader travel spending pattern, according to the report.