Following criticism of his use of a United States Air Force jet on a trip to Kentucky that involved viewing the solar eclipse , the Treasury Department 's Office of the Inspector General ( OIG ) opened up an inquiry into Mnuchin 's use of government aircraft . The watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington ( CREW ) filed a Freedom of Information Act ( FOIA ) request regarding Mnuchin 's use of government aircraft . After the government failed to respond to the FOIA request , CREW sued the Department of the Treasury to release the documents . Mnuchin denied the trip was related to viewing the solar eclipse , saying : " People in Kentucky took the solar eclipse very seriously . Being a New Yorker , I do n't have any interest in watching the eclipse . " Mnuchin , who was accompanied by his wife Louise Linton on the trip , reimbursed the government for Linton 's travel to Kentucky , which amounted to $ 595 out of a total cost of $ 26,900
solar eclipse
Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017
Steven Mnuchin