![]() ![]() Since some of President Trump’s travel combines official and campaign visits, it becomes difficult to determine what portion should be covered by the government and what portion needs to be reimbursed by the president’s political party. The trick is determining what’s official and what’s not. But campaigns are supposed to reimburse the government at a rate comparable to a standard charter flight when a “government conveyance” is used to travel to a campaign event. Taxpayers are on the hook for fuel, hotels, food and the costs of Secret Service protection when the president travels on official business. “Unfortunately, I have not been successful in obtaining any information.” “I have sent requests to the Air Force seeking how much the RNC (Republican National Committee) reimburses for campaign travel,” said Justin McCarthy, a Judicial Watch research associate, in an email this week. The conservative group Judicial Watch took the administration of then-President Barack Obama to court to try to learn the costs associated with his travel, and it has continued that practice – with limited success – with the Trump administration. The NTUF is not the only group clamoring to get information on costs of the president’s trips. ![]() Read more: Here’s how much the political candidates are spending in Arizona An Air Force spokesperson confirmed the higher amount in an email Tuesday. The NTUF did learn Tuesday that the latest cost of operating the president’s plane has risen to $176,393 per hour, up from $142,380 per flight hour in 2017, the last time the Air Force reported the amount. “We should be able to have access to how our taxpayer dollars are being spent.” “This is just a matter of good government transparency,” said Demian Brady, director of research for the National Taxpayers Union Foundation. Government watchdog groups say they have not been able to get a full accounting of the expenses related to the president’s use of Air Force One, despite years of trying. When Air Force One touches down in Arizona for President Donald Trump’s campaign visits to Bullhead City and Goodyear today, it will be at least the 20th campaign stop for the jet in the past eight days. ![]()
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