Treasury Secretary Mnuchin Requested Military Jet for European Honeymoon, Request Denied After Scrutiny

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin requested use of a government jet to take him and his wife Louise Linton on their honeymoon to Scotland, France, and Italy in summer 2017, sparking an inquiry by the Treasury Department’s Office of Inspector General. The highly unusual request for a U.S. Air Force jet, which could cost approximately $25,000 per hour to operate, was put in writing by Mnuchin’s office but was deemed unnecessary after further consideration by Treasury Department officials. A Treasury spokesman claimed Mnuchin requested government travel for his honeymoon out of concern for maintaining secure communications, as “the secretary is a member of the National Security Council and has responsibility for the Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence.”

Background

The request was ultimately deemed “unnecessary” after it became apparent that other methods for secure communication were available. The revelation came amid growing scrutiny of Mnuchin’s travel practices following the controversial Fort Knox eclipse trip and Louise Linton’s Instagram debacle. Two people familiar with the matter said Linton was not aware that her husband had requested government travel for their honeymoon when she made her condescending Instagram response to a critic questioning taxpayer-funded travel.

The honeymoon jet request represented an extraordinary sense of entitlement even by Trump Cabinet standards. Previous Treasury Secretaries had not requested military aircraft for personal travel, relying instead on secure communications through other means. The justification of “secure communications” requirements rang hollow given that cabinet secretaries routinely take personal trips without military jets and that Linton’s public social media presence contradicted any genuine security concerns.

Significance

Mnuchin’s honeymoon jet request exemplified the Trump Cabinet’s shameless attempt to use taxpayer resources for personal luxury. The $25,000-per-hour cost of military aircraft for a European honeymoon would have potentially exceeded $500,000 for the multi-country trip. The “secure communications” justification represented transparent pretext, as cabinet officials routinely maintain secure communications during personal travel without requiring dedicated military aircraft. The fact that Mnuchin put the request in writing demonstrated either stunning lack of awareness about propriety or contempt for ethical norms. The request’s denial only after public scrutiny - not through normal internal review - suggested Treasury ethics officials recognized the impropriety but required external pressure to reject it. This pattern of pushing ethical boundaries until facing public consequences characterized the broader Trump administration approach to ethics rules.