Taxpayers spent more than $800,000 on Treasury Sec. Mnuchin's military flights: report

Former Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price resigned less than a week ago after costing taxpayers over $1 million in private and military flights.

Now, according to the Treasury Department's inspector general, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin may catch up to him with the more than $800,000 he's spent on seven military flights, the New York Times reports.

That total includes a $15,000 flight from D.C. to New York -- a 149-mile trek -- to meet President Donald Trump at his Manhattan Trump Tower, The Washington Post notes, as well as a nearly $315,000 trip to Italy with staffers for a financial conference.

Mnuchin is one of several of Trump's cabinet members whose expensive spending habits have fallen under scrutiny in recent months. He initially drew criticism for taking a and allegedly watch the solar eclipse in August.

Treasury Department Inspector General Eric Thorson's office noted that while Mnuchin's travel was legal, it was likely unjustified.

"Just because something's legal doesn't make it right," Thorson's counsel Rich Delmar said in the department's 21-page report on Mnuchin's travel, released Thursday.

"With few exceptions, the commercial air system used by millions of Americans every day is appropriate, even for very senior officials," he continued.

over the summer citing "national security," but later rescinded the request.