EXCLUSIVE: A government watchdog group is filing a federal lawsuit against the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), arguing the agency has stonewalled records detailing Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg’s use of private government jets.

The group, Americans for Public Trust (APT), said it has repeatedly requested FAA records detailing how often Buttigieg has used the agency’s small fleet of jets and the taxpayer costs associated with those flights. But, according to its lawsuit first seen by Fox News Digital, the FAA has improperly delayed producing the records on three separate information requests filed by APT.

‘Pete Buttigieg abused taxpayer dollars by using a private jet to fly domestically and internationally,’ Caitlin Sutherland, APT’s executive director, told Fox News Digital. ‘It’s been six months since we helped expose Secretary Buttigieg’s trips, but his agency refuses to tell the American people how much they’re on the hook for his extravagant travel arrangements.’

‘Buttigieg’s FAA has stonewalled and refused to adhere to the law for releasing public records, so we’re filing suit on behalf of all Americans who deserve to know how their money is being spent by this administration,’ she continued.

Overall, APT’s lawsuit highlighted that more than 100 days have elapsed since the FAA acknowledged it had received the group’s information requests.

The first request, filed in November, asked for all flight logs and passenger manifests of the three jets the FAA manages; the second request, filed on Jan. 9, asked for the FAA to identify every instance when a White House official, executive branch official or member of Congress used one of the jets; and the third request, filed two days later, extended the second to include any other FAA-managed jets.

APT noted that the FAA set multiple deadlines where it promised to provide the requested records, but failed to meet those deadlines. The agency has now indefinitely delayed the production of those records.

‘The FAA has not communicated with APT concerning whether the FAA will fulfill its FOIA requests since missing two self-imposed extended deadlines of May 1 and May 18, 2023,’ the lawsuit states. ‘Nor has the FAA provided any indication as to when APT can expect its requests to be processed.’ 

‘The only documents that the FAA has produced to APT were documents previously produced in response to a FOIA request from a different party, and the documents produced are not fully responsive to all three of APT’s requests,’ it adds. ‘APT accordingly brings this lawsuit to compel the FAA to immediately respond to APT’s FOIA requests and promptly disclose all responsive, non-exempt records.’

Under the Freedom of Information Act, federal agencies are required to provide requested records within 20 working days, or 30 working days if an extension is determined to be necessary. The requesting party is allowed to pursue legal action if a court determines it has exhausted its administrative remedies.

The lawsuit comes exactly six months after a Fox News Digital report that showed Buttigieg, a vocal proponent of sweeping climate measures, took at least 18 flights using the FAA’s taxpayer-funded private jets between early 2021 and mid-2022. The report identified the flights using Buttigieg’s internal calendar obtained by APT.

In one instance of his use of government-managed private jets, Buttigieg traveled roundtrip from Washington, D.C., to Las Vegas to promote public works projects in August 2021. In another example, Buttigieg used a jet to fly to multiple states — most of which have largely been considered swing states in elections — in August 2022 as part of a tour highlighting federal infrastructure grants.

Additional information obtained by Fox News Digital showed Buttigieg’s senior advisers took five other flights on the jets without him. 

The December report ultimately triggered the Department of Transportation’s Office of the Inspector General to open an investigation into Buttigieg’s use of the FAA fleet in late February.

‘We welcome this independent audit moving forward in order to put some of the false, outlandish, and cynical claims about the Secretary’s mode of travel to rest. The fact remains that he flies commercially the vast majority of the time,’ a DOT spokesperson said at the time.

On Feb. 28, one day after the investigation was announced, Fox News Digital filed a request with the FAA related to Buttigieg’s use of government jets. The FAA first set a self-imposed deadline of April 28 and has since, like it has with APT’s requests, repeatedly delayed the production of those records.

Buttigieg’s predecessor Elaine Chao, who led the DOT throughout the Trump administration, was criticized after it was revealed she used government-managed planes on seven occasions in 2017, costing taxpayers about $94,000. 

Former Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price was forced to resign after it was reported he had cost taxpayers more than $1 million using government jets.

EXCLUSIVE: A two-term female GOP lawmaker is downplaying the idea that abortion and former President Donald Trump will hurt turnout for Republicans in next year’s race for Congress and the White House.

The 2022 election saw Republicans gain back valuable ground with suburban women after losing both Congress and the White House in 2020. But some surveys show that a predicted ‘red wave’ was staved off in part because of a backlash to the Supreme Court’s decision to roll back federal abortion protections in Roe v. Wade.

Speaking on the sidelines of a Winning For Women PAC fundraiser, a group dedicated to getting more Republican women elected to Congress, Rep. Ashley Hinson told Fox News Digital that the media had overblown how significant the issue of abortion actually was in the 2022 election. She cited her own race in Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District last year.

‘I faced that challenge in my last election … they spent over a million dollars attacking me on that issue, and I won by more. And I think what happened is they chose that as their only issue,’ said Hinson, R-Iowa. ‘Voters are not focused on that as the only issue.’

Hinson flipped a set held by a Democrat in Iowa’s 1st Congressional District in 2020, beating then-Rep. Abby Finkenauer by just less than three points. Due to redistricting, she ran for reelection in the nearby 2nd and won by double digits.

‘Most people are saying, ‘I just need to get to work, pick up my kids and focus on my kitchen table issues,’ and that’s what I talked about. That doesn’t mean I’m not pro-life, that I don’t care about that issue, but it means I’m also going to listen to my constituents about what they’re actually talking about around the kitchen tables,’ Hinson said.

‘The media here in D.C. and the activist groups love to talk about that all the time. But if you actually talk to Iowans about what they’re focused on, it’s not that,’ she said.

On Trump, the legislator suggested that swing voters like suburban women would still vote Republicans into Congress because they’re fed up with President Joe Biden’s policies. She noted that several key Biden administration provisions, including policies on solar panels and Biden’s student loan forgiveness program, have received votes of disapproval on Capitol Hill.

MIDTERM ELECTIONS: 10 MOST OFF-THE-RAILS DEBATE MOMENTS OF 2022, FROM FETTERMAN ON FRACKING TO WALKER’S BADGE 

‘I think that when you look at the contrast, no matter who our Republican nominee is going to be, it’s going to drive turnout for Republicans because Joe Biden is so bad at his job. Whether it’s the border, the economy, disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan, and international policy, trade policy that’s failing our country – the list of failures goes on and on and on,’ Hinson said.

‘And that’s why you’re seeing Congress, both in the House and the Senate, pass CRAs that are a direct check on his administration and their failures,’ she said, referring to the Congressional Review Act that allows Congress to overturn executive branch regulations. ‘So, I think that’s the case we’re making to the American people, no matter who’s our presidential nominee.’

She said the GOP could keep recovering the ground it lost in the suburbs by sticking to ‘kitchen table issues’ and expanding its tent of nominees.

That approach appeared to be successful this week. The Winning for Women’s DC fundraiser on Tuesday evening, which was also attended by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and House GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, brought in more than $800,000 to support its endorsed candidates’ campaigns for 2024.

‘I think what’s really important about the work that Winning for Women has done is they are finding candidates like me and like the women you saw here tonight who are stepping up to run and can speak to those issues in their districts,’ Hinson said.

‘People talk about all the time, the candidates who flipped seats in 2020: women, minorities and veterans,’ she said. ‘So, that’s what our country wants to see here in Congress – is people who are like them who can speak to their issues.’

There was an optimistic mood in the Oregon state Capitol that a boycott by Republican senators, which has been underway for six weeks, could end soon as GOP and Democratic leaders met to negotiate compromises over bills on abortion, transgender health care and gun safety.

The walkout, which began on May 3, is the longest in the 163-year history of the Oregon Legislature and reportedly the second-longest of any U.S. state, after Rhode Island.

This year several statehouses around the nation, including Montana and Tennessee, have been ideological battlegrounds. Oregon — which pioneered decriminalizing marijuana, boosting recycling, and protecting immigrants — is often viewed as one of America’s most liberal states. But it also has deeply conservative rural areas.

The talks in Oregon aimed at ending the impasse gained momentum when Republicans, led by Senate Minority Leader Sen. Tim Knopp, began late last week to negotiate on the contentious bills.

‘I don’t want to say anything to jinx the current state of play, but I will say that at this point I’m optimistic,’ Sen. Michael Dembrow, a Portland Democrat, told his constituents in an email.

The Republican walkout, the sixth since 2019, has prevented a quorum in the Senate, freezing debates and floor votes on over 100 bills. Oregon is one of only four states requiring two-thirds of legislators to be present for quorum instead of a majority. Four states require two-thirds of legislators to be present for quorum.

On Wednesday, more than 40 Oregon Democratic House and Senate members sponsored a joint resolution proposing an amendment to the state Constitution to require a majority of each chamber in the Legislature to be present to conduct business. If passed by the Legislature, which seems unlikely given that there’s only 11 days left in the current legislative session, it would go before Oregon voters in a ballot measure in the 2024 election.

The 2023 legislative session must end, according to the state Constitution, no later than June 25. Bills on state budgets for the next two years are also supposed to be approved by then by the Senate and House. If not, Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek would call a special session for this summer to pass a biennial budget. She has signed a resolution that would maintain funding at current levels for state agencies until September.

Oregon Republicans, in particular, oppose a provision in the measure on abortion and transgender health care that would allow doctors to provide abortions regardless of the patient’s age, with medical providers not required to notify the parents of a minor, especially when doing so could endanger the child, such as in cases of incest.

They also object to amendments in a gun-control measure that originally would punish the manufacturing or transferring of undetectable firearms with a maximum 10-year sentence and $250,000 fine, but was expanded to increase the purchasing age to 21 for AR-15s and similar types of guns, and allow for more limited concealed-carry rights.

Connor Radnovich, spokesperson for Senate President Rob Wagner, said the talks continued on Wednesday behind closed doors.

‘Conversations are ongoing and it seems that both sides are hopeful that a deal can be reached,’ Radnovich said.

In a conciliatory gesture, Wagner gaveled open Senate floor sessions this week but did not conduct a roll call. That keeps boycotting Republicans from being assessed fines of $325 for every day that a quorum isn’t reached. The fines had been assessed starting June 5.

After GOP lawmakers boycotted the Oregon Legislature in 2019, 2020 and 2021, voters last November approved a ballot measure by an almost 70% margin aimed at stopping walkouts. Lawmakers with 10 or more unexcused absences would be disqualified from reelection in the next term, according to the measure’s title and summary.

Republican senators are expected to file court challenges if the secretary of state’s elections division bars them from registering as candidates in September.

The state with the longest walkout is Rhode Island, according to a list by Ballotpedia.

In 1924, Republican senators in New Hampshire fled to Rutland, Massachusetts and stayed away for six months, ending Democratic efforts to have a popular referendum on the holding of a constitutional convention.

That self-imposed exile followed the detonation of a gas bomb in the Senate chamber. Democrats and Republicans both accused each other of setting it off.

<!–>

–>

The House of Representatives on Wednesday voted against the idea of censuring and condemning Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., for insisting that former President Donald Trump colluded with Russia to win the 2016 election.

In a 225-196 vote, lawmakers decided to set aside the censure resolution against Schiff, effectively killing it and preventing a vote on passage. The resolution, introduced by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., was opposed by 20 Republicans as two other GOP lawmakers voted ‘present’ along with five Democrats.

The resolution was known to be on shaky ground with some Republicans. One expected ‘no’ vote, Rep. Tom Massie, R-Ky., said he opposed the idea of a fine against Schiff — the resolution up Wednesday recommended a $16 million fine but did not require it.

‘Adam Schiff acted unethically but if a resolution to fine him $16 million comes to the floor I will vote to table it. (vote against it),’ he tweeted Wednesday.

‘The Constitution says the House may make its own rules but we can’t violate other (later) provisions of the Constitution,’ he added. ‘A $16 million fine is a violation of the 27th and 8th amendments.’

Along with Massie, the 19 other Republicans voting with Democrats to kill the resolution were Reps. Kelly Armstrong of North Dakota, Lori Chavez-DeRemer or Oregon, Juan Ciscomani of Arizona, Tom Cole of Oklahoma, Warren Davidson of Ohio, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Kay Granger of Texas, Garret Graves of Louisiana, Thomas Kean of New Jersey, Kevin Kiley of California, Young Kim of California, Michael Lawler of New York, Tom McClintock of California, Marcus Molinaro of New York, Jay Obernolte of California, Michael Simpson of Idaho, Michael Turner of Ohio, David Valadao of California and Steve Womack of Arkansas.

It wasn’t clear late Wednesday whether House Republicans might try again with a resolution against Schiff that leaves out all mentions of possible fines.

The resolution that failed on the House floor Wednesday said claims of Trump-Russia collusion were cooked up by Trump’s political opponents and pursued by the Department of Justice despite the lack of any solid foundation for suspecting collusion.

The resolution says the Democrats’ claims of collusion were ‘revealed as false’ by ‘numerous’ investigations, including Special Counsel John Durham’s probe into how the investigation into Trump was launched. It says that report, and reports from Special Counsel Robert Mueller and DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz, show that collusion ‘does not exist’ despite Schiff’s public claims to the contrary.

‘By repeatedly telling these falsehoods, Representative Schiff purposely deceived his Committee, Congress, and the American people,’ the resolution says.

‘Representative Schiff lent credibility to the Steele dossier — a collection of debunked collusion accusations funded by President Trump’s political rivals — by reading false Steele allegations into the Congressional Record,’ it says.

‘Representative Schiff composed a false memo justifying the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrant application on Trump associate Carter Page, which Inspector General Horowitz later found was riddled with 17 major mistakes and omissions, provoking FISA Court Presiding Judge Rosemary Collyer to state unequivocally that the Federal Bureau of Investigation ‘[misled] the FISC,” it adds.

‘Representative Schiff used his position and access to sensitive information to instigate a fraudulently based investigation, which he then used to amass political gain and fundraising dollars,’ it says. ‘The American taxpayers paid $32 million to fund the investigation into collusion that was launched as a result of Representative Schiff’s lies, misrepresentations, and abuses of sensitive information.’

If the resolution were to pass, it would formally censure and condemn Schiff’s actions for misleading the public ‘in a way that is not befitting’ an elected member of the House.

It would require Schiff to stand in the well of the House while the resolution is read in full.

And it would require an investigation into Schiff’s ‘lies, misrepresentations and abuses of sensitive information’ by the House Committee on Ethics.

Democratic lawmakers are attempting to force insurance companies to pay for pregnancy treatments for homosexual couples in California by redefining ‘infertility’ to include couples who cannot reproduce because they have a partner of the same sex.

The California Senate passed a bill in May that for insurance purposes would redefine ‘infertility’ as ‘a person’s inability to reproduce either as an individual or with their partner without medical intervention.’

SB-729 would repeal and add to sections of the state’s current Health and Safety Code and Insurance Code so that same-sex couples unable to reproduce together would be considered ‘infertile,’ and insurance companies would be required to cover costs for treatments such as in vitro fertilization (IVF) or surrogacy.

‘This bill would require large group, small group, and individual health care service care plan contracts and disability insurance policies issued, amended, or renewed on or after January 1, 2024, to provide coverage for the diagnosis and treatment of infertility and fertility services,’ the legislation states. ‘The bill would revise the definition of infertility, and would remove the exclusion of in vitro fertilization from coverage.’

IVF treatments include costly procedures like ‘ultrasounds, blood tests, egg retrieval, lab fees, embryo transfer, cryopreservation of viable embryos and one year of embryo storage fees,’ according to the Pacific Fertility Center of Los Angeles.

The center also states that the average cost for in vitro treatments in California is between $8,000 to $13,000 for one cycle, not including medication.

If passed, the bill would cover costs for surrogacy, which is a much more expensive treatment that averages anywhere from $14,000 to $46,000.

The Democrat-sponsored bill was introduced by State Sen. Caroline Menjivar, who said that the legislation ‘will ensure that queer couples no longer have to pay more out of pocket to start families than non-queer families.’ The Senate bill was coauthored by Democrat state senators Anthony Portantino and Scott Wiener.

Men Having Babies, a group seeking to ‘broaden access to affordable and ethical parenting options for gay men,’ said it supports the bill because it believes the anguish felt by women and men who cannot get pregnant is ‘equal’ to the frustrations of a same-sex couple who cannot reproduce.

‘The anguish and yearning that same-sex couples and singles feel due to their inability to reproduce without medical intervention is equal to the anguish of heterosexual couples who suffer from ‘medical infertility,” MHB wrote on its website.

The bill comes as the California State Assembly is also pushing a bill amended so parents in custody battles could be found liable for child abuse if they do not affirm the gender identity of their children.