Treasury secretary Steve Mnuchin apparently requested use of a military jet earlier this summer so that he and his new wife, the ever-classy Louise Linton, could use it for their honeymoon.
The Washington Post reports that, according to a Treasury Department spokesperson, Mnuchin requested government equipment for personal pleasure because “it is imperative that he have access to secure communications, and it is our practice to consider a wide range of options to ensure he has these capabilities during his travel, including the possible use of military aircraft.”
Mnuchin, who is also a member of the National Security Council, and, like the rest of the Trump administration, is vastly unqualified for the job he has been chosen to perform, was likely unaware that the use of military planes are generally reserved for the president, the vice president and members of his cabinet who deal with national security directly.
The request for an Air Force jet, which ABC News called “highly unusual,” was eventually rescinded after further consideration from the Treasury Department. In an interview with ABC, the top Democrat in the Senate Finance Committee, Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon, said ““You don’t need a giant rulebook of government requirements to just say yourself, ‘This is common sense, it’s wrong.’ That’s just slap your forehead stuff.”
Common sense appears to be in short supply in the Mnuchin-Linton household. In August, Mnuchin’s new wife Louise made news after posting a picture of herself descending the stairs of a government airplane, feet clad in #ValentinoRockstudHeels, freshly-highlighted hair blowing in the wind. The caption of said photo was a minefield of hashtagged designers and the reception was not as warm as Linton might have hoped. A lot of people got mad! Linton later said she was sorry, but didn’t sound very sorry. Meanwhile, the Treasury Department is investigating the August trip, which many suspect was for the express purpose of viewing the eclipse—a trip that would’ve gone unnoticed had Linton not grabbed her iPhone and popped off on a commoner who dared come for her hyper-privileged lifestyle.