VA Secretary Shulkin watched Wimbledon, took canal cruise with wife on taxpayer dime
Secretary of Veterans Affairs David Shulkin spent large portions of a trip to Europe in July sightseeing with his wife, revelations that come amid heightened scrutiny over how members of the Trump administration are using taxpayer resources.
Shulkin and his wife, Merle Bari, spent 10 days on a trip to London and Copenhagen, taking in matches at this summer's Wimbledon tennis competition and enjoying a river cruise in between meetings with foreign officials.
The VA secretary requested meetings with Danish officials between July 12 and July 14, and was invited to participate in a conference in London on July 19 with his counterparts from Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, The Washington Post reported Friday.
In between, he and his wife, whose airfare and a per diem for meals were at taxpayer expense because she was traveling on "approved invitational orders," toured both cities, visiting Christiansborg and Amalienborg palaces and going on a canal tour in Copenhagen, as well as Buckingham and Kensington palaces and a river cruise on the Thames in London.
The trip came less than two weeks after Shulkin signed a memo instructing VA officials to curtail unnecessary travel in order to "generate savings within the" department.
VA press secretary Curt Cashour told the Post in a statement that all of the Shulkins' activities, including Wimbledon, had been "reviewed and approved by ethics counsel."
"These were important trips with our allies to discuss best practices for taking care of veterans," Cashour said. "The secretary has been transparent on his down-time activities that were similar to what he would have done with his family over a weekend in the U.S."
The VA also announced Friday that it would post online the secretary's travel itineraries, including whether he flew on government or private planes, to increase transparency.
Revelations of Shulkins' travel activities come as at least four other senior members of President Donald Trump's administration have faced questions about their travel on the taxpayer dime.
On Thursday night, Politico reported that Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke had flown between two Caribbean islands with staff on two chartered jets on a route where commercial flights are readily available, as well as to his home state of Montana. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt has taken at least four military and non-commercial flights costing at least $58,000.
Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin came under fire for using a government plane to fly to Kentucky in August with his wife for a trip that coincided with the total solar eclipse, and for a request – later withdrawn – to use a government plane for his European honeymoon.
But it is Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price who has come under the heaviest criticism for travel totalling more than $1 million within the United States and overseas on private charter and military aircraft.
On Thursday, Price promised to fly only commercial and write a check reimburse the government so "taxpayers won't pay a dime for my seat on those planes." Price has confirmed the amount of the check to be $51,887.31.
Trump on Friday reiterated his displeasure with the burgeoning scandal, telling reporters he would make a decision regarding Price's future in the administration Friday night.
"He's a very fine man," Trump said. "I certainly don't like the optics. I'm not happy, I can tell you that. I'm not happy."
(Copyright 2017 U.S. News & World Report)
