Mnuchin: Plane request was about national security
WASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Thursday the initial request for use of a government plane for his European trip last month was about national security and not his own personal convenience on his honeymoon.
Mnuchin said as a member of the president’s National Security Council he needed a secure communication link with Washington and his staff put in a request for use of an Air Force jet for his honeymoon trip with his wife Louis Linton to Scotland, France and Italy.
But he said it was just an option being explored and once it became clear he could obtain secure communications links without a government plane, the request was withdrawn.
“Let me just set the record straight. First of all, the government never paid for any of my personal travel,” Mnuchin said at a conference sponsored by Politico. “This had nothing to do with convenience. This was purely about national security.”