Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin defended his trip to view the solar eclipse from Fort Knox in Kentucky, for which he used a government plane, saying he did hot have any interest in the event because he is from New York.
“People in Kentucky took this stuff very seriously. Being a New Yorker, I don’t have any interest in watching the eclipse,” Muchin said on Thursday, according to The Washington Post.
Mnuchin and his wife, Louise Linton, faced backlash for the trip after Linton posted a photo of her exiting the jet on Instagram, with hashtags identifying the various high-end designers she was wearing.
{mosads}
Linton then lashed out at an Instragram user criticizing the photo, calling the commenter “out of touch” and saying she and her husband “sacrifice” more to the U.S. government.
Linton later apologized for the post and deleted the photo.
Mnuchin’s comments come after it was revealed that he had requested to use a government plane for his honeymoon earlier this year.
The department defended Mnuchin, saying he requested the plane so he could keep in contact with government officials while he was away.
“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,” a department spokesman said.
Mnuchin later responded to the report on Twitter, saying he would have paid for the jet himself.