WASHINGTON — Sen. Rand Paul’s Senate committee charged taxpayers nearly $18,000 for a private flight that carried six staffers to Pittsburgh to investigate the 2024 assassination attempt against then-presidential candidate Donald Trump. Senate expenditure records show the $17,827 charter flight was booked through New Flight Solutions after Trump was shot at a campaign rally in nearby Butler, Pennsylvania. At the time, Paul was the committee’s top Republican on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee; he is now its chairman. The expense accounted for more than 18% of the committee’s travel and transportation spending from April 1 through Sept. 30, 2024. Other committee staffers traveled to Butler for the same investigation by car or commercial airline at a fraction of the cost. A trip from Washington to Butler can take about five hours by car, while a direct commercial flight to Pittsburgh takes slightly more than an hour. Senate rules permit private aircraft for official business, but congressional travel experts described the arrangement as highly unusual for committee staff. The roster listed six Paul aides: his staff director, chief counsel, research assistant, operations director, press assistant and a professional staff member. It was not disclosed whether Paul himself flew on the charter or personally approved the booking. Comparable travel costs were far lower. An aide to then-committee Chairman Gary Peters, a Michigan Democrat, spent less than $700. Staff working for Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Ron Johnson, R-Wis., spent just over $900 and less than $700, respectively. Two senior Peters aides each used commercial flights costing under $400. “Senator Peters is committed to the responsible use of taxpayer dollars, and staff used commercial air or standard ground transportation while conducting the bipartisan investigation,” a Peters spokesperson said. Paul spokesperson Drew Carmichael defended the charter, saying the committee conducted a yearlong inquiry into Secret Service failures and made several trips to interview witnesses and inspect the site. “This was the most efficient and effective means for the entire investigative team to participate in the investigative activities that day and followed all Senate rules and regulations,” Carmichael said. He added that the office had carefully considered its options but declined to explain why a private jet was more cost-effective than driving or flying commercial. Kedric Payne, vice president of the Campaign Legal Center, said congressional ethics rules allow official funds to pay for official travel but called private airfare for staff rare. “Private jet travel for staff raises many questions, and if this happened, the lawmakers involved owe taxpayers answers,” Payne said. The trip took place July 26, 2024, at the Butler Farm Show grounds, where Trump had been speaking when the gunman opened fire. Investigators also visited the adjacent American Glass Research building, where the shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, positioned himself before firing eight rounds from an AR-15-style rifle. Crooks was killed by authorities at the scene. Committee staff received briefings from local law enforcement officers who supported the Secret Service and interviewed four officers, two rally attendees and the president of the Clairton Sportsmen’s Club, where Crooks was a member. The findings later appeared in a bipartisan interim report. The spending has drawn added attention because Paul has built his political brand around limiting federal spending and challenging government waste. His spokesperson said Paul has returned more than $9.2 million from his official office budget to the U.S. Treasury. Paul’s office has also used private aircraft for official travel around Kentucky. Records list a $17,847 charter trip in October 2024 that included stops in Bowling Green, Henderson, Marion, Calvert City, Paducah and Fulton. Another flight later that month cost $24,371 and included stops in London, Middlesboro, Harlan, Prestonsburg, Pikeville, Jackson, Ashland, Maysville and Mount Sterling. In June 2025, a charter itinerary carrying Paul and three staffers from Bowling Green through Somerset and London to Washington totaled $14,198. Other listed flights included a $13,351 trip from Bowling Green to Frederick, Maryland, and a $6,990 flight to Ashland in September 2025. Carmichael said the Kentucky flights allowed Paul to visit more communities during work periods and spend more time with constituents. Since 2012, Paul’s campaign committee and leadership political action committee have also spent more than $113,000 on private jets through New Flight Solutions, according to the records reviewed. The investigation into Trump’s shooting raised serious questions about security failures. But the contrast between the nearly $18,000 charter and the hundreds of dollars spent by other lawmakers’ aides has put a more basic question before taxpayers: whether congressional oversight should come with first-class treatment when cheaper transportation was available.