GOP Rep. Dan Donovan (N.Y.) is calling for an investigation into New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s (D) use of a spy plane for a vacation, according to the New York Post.
The Democratic mayor used the New York Police Department’s (NYPD) federally funded spy plane to fly to and from Canada last week, which Donovan is calling an inappropriate use of homeland security equipment, according to the Post.
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In a letter to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) obtained by the publication, Donovan asks if it was acceptable for de Blasio to use the plane “absent an unknown and compelling security need.”
“This action raises questions about the propriety of federally-funded assets being used for activities unrelated to homeland security,” Donovan wrote.
The counterterrorism plane is worth $6.8 million, the Post reported.
NYPD Police Commissioner James O’Neill on Tuesday insisted it was within de Blasio’s rights.
“I don’t think there’s going to be pushback from Washington,” O’Neill said. “We didn’t ask for clearance, and I haven’t heard from them.”
Neither de Blasio nor FEMA responded to the Post’s requests for comment.
The Daily Mail posted a video of a flight tracker that followed the NYPD plane from Long Island to Montreal.