Embattled Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price said on Thursday that he thinks he still has the support of President Trump amid an uproar over his use of charter aircraft.
“We’re going to work through this, and I think we’ve still got the confidence of the president,” Price told reporters as he left an event promoting the flu vaccine at the National Press Club.
Price took no questions from reporters, who chased him and shouted questions as he was escorted out a back door.
Price, who received a flu shot, left the event before a scheduled question-and-answer session.
The former Georgia congressman has come under fire for using charter aircraft — at taxpayer expense — for official travel. Some of those flights overlapped with personal events, including a lunch with his son.
{mosads}Price’s job could be at risk, as President Trump on Wednesday said he was “not happy” with the situation and refused to rule out his firing.
“I am not happy about it. I’m going to look at it. I am not happy about it and I let him know it,” Trump said at the White House.
When asked whether he planned to fire Price, the president said, “We’ll see.”
Price’s flights are now the subject of an investigation by his department’s inspector general.
Price said this week he will stop using charter flights but has suggested that the accusations are politically motivated by critics of the Trump administration.