Maybe former Vice President Mike Pence was inspired by his then-boss, Donald Trump. It seems that at the height of the coronavirus pandemic last December he and his family took an egregiously expensive skiing trip to Colorado that cost taxpayers a whopping $757,000, while simultaneously shattering federal guidelines, The Independent [1] reports.
Pence and family traveled with at least 48 agents who rented 77 cabins during the trip, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) [2] reports.
At the time Pence headed the White House’s coronavirus task force, but this didn’t prevent him from heading for the slopes at Vail, Colorado in December as coronavirus cases surged. Even though that very same task force issued dire warnings urging people to stay home over the holidays after Thanksgiving.
“Clearly Pence did not follow the government’s advice, and in the process put dozens of Secret Service agents at heightened risk of infection,” the report found.
Of course, we know his former boss also did this, regularly placing agents [3] at risk, so maybe Pence was just following suit. I mean, after all, taxpayers footed the bill for Trump’s golf games, which was estimated [4] to be a staggering $151.5 million.
CREW also reports the agents rented 77 cars and stayed in numerous hotels, racking up a tidy $270,000 at the Marriott Vail Mountain, and more than $80,000 at the swanky Ritz Carlton. Wow did I ever wind up in the wrong profession. Oh well.
But the worst part isn’t that Pence and crew blew taxpayer money on this extravaganza that lasted from December 23 to January 1. No, CREW reports that Trump and other administration officials violated guidelines at least 27 times during the months of September and October alone.
Several Secret Service agents were either infected or forced to quarantine after coming into contact with infected Trump supporters at his seemingly endless campaign rallies as the pandemic was in full swing.
Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump also violated stay-at-home orders in April 2020 when they traveled to Trump’s Bedminster golf club in New Jersey.
But really, when did this family or this former administration really care about the welfare of others? Especially when others are footing the bill?