U.S. senators collectively spend more than a million taxpayer dollars each year for pricey flights on private planes for themselves and their staff, even though Senate rules greatly discourage the practice, an investigation by The Center Square found.
The spending includes a Midwestern senator who regularly charters flights to travel to and from Washington, D.C., at an expense that is about 10 times what he would pay to fly commercially from his local airport.
It also includes New York's two senators who have repeatedly used the charter planes to crisscross their state for public appearances and press conferences, including for initiatives to protect the environment. Private jets are notorious polluters and often criticized by environmentalists when celebrities use them.
And one former Arizona senator spent about $50,000 for one flight from Washington, D.C., to the Grand Canyon in 2023 to attend an event with then-President Joe Biden, who signed a proclamation to protect sacred tribal land in the area.
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