South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem Criticized After Flight Logs Show She Used State Plane For Tens of Thousands of Dollars of Political Travel
Photo Courtesy of the Committee on Arrangements for the 2020 Republican National Committee via Getty Images.
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) is facing scrutiny after flight logs revealed that she used the state airplane for travel to conservative political events, a possible violation of state law.
According to Raw Story, Noem used the plane to travel to events during 2019 that included an NRA conference in San Antonio, a Turning Point USA gathering in Dallas, a Republican Jewish Coalition meeting in Las Vegas, and organizational meetings with other Republican governors in Aspen, Boca Raton, and Kentucky. Noem attended a number of events during 2020 to support former President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign, but her office said that travel was all on commercial aircraft or planes provided by the Trump campaign.
Several other trips detailed in the flight logs appeared to be a mix of business and pleasure, like a New York City trip with her family, purportedly to “cheer on the South Dakota Float in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade,” according to Noem’s Instagram post, but they also made touristy jaunts to a restaurant made famous for its appearances in the Seinfeld television show, Radio City Music Hall, and ice skating in Central Park. The trip also happened to wrap up on Noem’s 48th birthday.
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By Raw Story‘s calculation, that NYC trip cost South Dakota taxpayers an estimated $17,200.
South Dakota law prohibits the use of state aircraft for anything other than state business, and violations are a Class 2 misdemeanor and subject to “a civil penalty of not more than one thousand dollars plus ten times the cost incurred by the state.”
Ian Fury, Noem’s spokesman, insisted her travel was all properly categorized as state business. “One of Governor Noem’s primary roles as Governor is to be South Dakota’s top ambassador to the rest of the nation. She has made this a big part of her governorship, advertising to attract businesses to our state, to drive tourism to our state, and to appeal to particular industries,” wrote Fury in an email.
Still, the issue arises as the South Dakota legislature is debating the state budget, including a $5 million request from the governor to purchase a new state plane — plus an inquiry into Noem’s taxpayer-funded security detail, which traveled with her to Trump campaign events throughout 2020.
