Loeffler ditches private jet she claimed was to 'save taxpayer money'

Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-GA) admitted on Wednesday night that she regularly flies on Delta after previously claiming to use her own private jet to save taxpayer funds.

“I’ve been flying back and forth to Washington on Delta,” Loeffler said during a Fox News interview.

In February, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that Loeffler was the only member of the Georgia congressional delegation to use a private jet when commuting back and forth to the nation’s capital, noting she “occasionally” flew on commercial flights.

At the time, her spokesperson said Loeffler used her jet “to best serve Georgians and save taxpayer money.”

Every member of Congress has access to taxpayer funds, known as the Members’ Representational Allowance, to cover travel to and from their home state to Washington, D.C. Loeffler was not using those funds when flying in her own plane.

Loeffler, the wealthiest member of Congress, bragged about her private jet in a campaign ad that aired in May. The ad noted that she used her jet to bring home four Georgians who were stranded in Florida because of the coronavirus crisis.

The issue of flights came up Wednesday night after Loeffler was asked her opinion about face mask mandates to help slow the spread of coronavirus.

“I don’t think we need a mandate to wear a mask,” Loeffler said, saying people should follow “common-sense guidelines.”

But she mischaracterized Delta’s approach to its passengers wearing face masks.

“Everyone’s wearing their masks,” she said. “There’s no law to do that — the airlines just ask that we do it, and everyone does it, and that’s working out well.”

But Delta does more than just ask customers to wear masks: Since May 4, the airline has required customers to wear a mask when flying, according to its website.

And the airline is strictly enforcing the mandate.

“If you board the plane and you insist on not wearing your mask, we will insist that you don’t fly Delta into the future,” Ed Bastian, Delta’s CEO, said Wednesday on NBC’s “Today.”

“We already have over 100 people we’ve put on that list,” he added.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.