President Donald Trump's flights aboard Air Force One for two weekend trips to his Mar-a-Lago resort in South Florida cost $1,281,420, Judicial Watch announced.
The conservative watchdog group obtained the information from the Department of the Air Force after a Freedom of Information Act request.
The records show it cost $142,380 an hour to operate Air Force One, the group said. Here is how it all breaks down, according to Judicial Watch:
- The president traveled 4.7 hours of flight time at $142,380 per hour for a total of $669,186 on Feb. 3-4.
- The following month, Air Force One flew 4.3 hours at $142,380 per hour for a total of $612,234, which included a jaunt to Orlando, an additional half-hour of flight costs.
"We're pleased the Air Force finally gave us some numbers for President Trump's travel," Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said. "We're preparing to go to court to get a full accounting of President Trump's controversial trips. Judicial Watch tracked some of the costs of President [Barack] Obama's unnecessary travel, and we're not closing up shop with a new administration."
Since 2009, Judicial Watch kept tabs Obama's travel while he was in the White House. It revealed at least $96,938,882.51 in taxpayer dollars for Obama family travel during his eight years in office.
Meanwhile, Judicial Watch noted it has requested for records from the Secret Service for trips by Trump and other top administration officials. Additional request to the Air Force are also pending.
The Hill reported Trump has defended his trips, claiming they are less expensive than a visit to the Trump Tower in New York City.