Jill Biden’s 3,600-mile round trip from France to Delaware to spend two days at Hunter’s trial could cost up to $345,000… and taxpayers could be on the hook for a huge bill
Taxpayers will bear the majority of the costs Jill Biden‘s whirling flights between Wilmington, Delawareand France, so she could be at son Hunter’s side during his federal gun trial, although the Democratic Party will throw in some money.
The first lady earned $345,400 in flight costs, the National Taxpayers Union Foundation estimates, as she boomeranged between the United States and France last week, traveling separately from husband Joe Biden so she could support her family at home while representing the United States abroad.
Her political party will reimburse the government for what it would cost her to fly commercially, while taxpayers foot the rest of the bill.
“In accordance with relevant regulations in place by all governments, the government will be reimbursed the value of a first-class fare for these flights to Wilmington and back to Paris,” Jill Biden’s office told DailyMail.com in a statement.
The Democratic National Committee, which is funded by donors, will be the entity providing the reimbursement White House official told DailyMail.com.
The East Wing did not provide the dollar amount that was refunded. It also did not say who paid for the aides traveling with the first lady.
But a first-class one-way ticket from Philadelphia to Paris costs $6,655, per search google to flee.
Jill Biden spent 24 hours over the course of three days on a plane so she could alternate between being with her son and her husband, four days in the Delaware courthouse and three days in France. She was back at the J. Caleb Boggs Federal Building in Wilmington on Monday.
First lady Jill Biden arrives at the J. Caleb Boggs Federal Building in Wilmington, Delaware on Monday, June 10, 2024
Jill Biden’s trip last week: Tuesday night she flew from Washington, D.C., to Wilmington, Del.; On Wednesday evening she flew from Wilmington to Paris; She flew back to Wilmington from Paris on Thursday and returned to Paris on Friday
The White House Military Office determines the final ticket price and handles billing. Normally, those not traveling on government business, such as members of the media, are charged a first-class fare.
First Ladies generally travel by Boeing C-32 aircraft. The Air Force lists the reimbursable rate for use of this aircraft at $13,816 per hour, the National Taxpayers Union Foundation told DailyMail.com.
The group analyzes official government travel as part of its work, including the hourly rate for operating Air Force One.
According to TravelMath.com, a flight from Paris, France to Wilmington, Del., takes 8 hours. That would bring the cost of each leg of the trip to $110,528. Adding the three flights between France and Wilmington, plus Jill Biden’s one-hour flight from Washington DC to Wilmington on Tuesday, that comes to a total of $345,400.
As first lady, Jill Biden does not have the opportunity to fly commercially due to safety requirements. Wherever she travels, she is accompanied by her Secret Service associates and several aides, along with logistical support staff.
She took a full day of airtime to stand by her son’s side as he fought federal weapons charges, and then join her husband to honor D-Day veterans on the 80th anniversary of Normandy.
The first lady flew to Wilmington on Tuesday evening. The president dropped her off at her plane on the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews and then boarded Air Force One to travel to Paris.
Jill Biden spent Wednesday in court and then traveled to France that evening.
She spent Thursday’s D-Day festivities in Normandy and returned to Wilmington that evening so she could spend Friday in court. She then flew back to France on Friday evening and arrived early on Saturday morning to be on the ground for the official state visit.
She spent Saturday at an event with France’s first lady Brigitte Macron and then attended the state dinner with the president. She returned to the United States with the president on Air Force One on Sunday.
Jill Biden was in France to support President Joe Biden, above the couple at the final stop of their trip at the American Cemetery in Belleau, France
Brigitte Macron, French President Emmanuel Macron, US President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden at the Elysee Palace for Saturday evening’s state dinner
Jill Biden and Brigette Macron toured the Louis Vuitton Foundation
Hunter Biden and wife Melissa Cohen arrive at court on Monday
Despite the extensive travel, Jill Biden seemed energetic while on the ground in France. When she and Brigitte Macron visited an art exhibition at the Louis Vuitton Foundation on Saturday, she asked several questions. She and Macron talked about the art, and at one point they held hands and giggled.
For the state dinner, she wore a custom navy blue velvet Schiaparelli dress with a flowing scarf tied around her waist that fell in a train behind her.
But the first lady faced questions about her extensive travels.
“The White House should be more transparent about these costs so that taxpayers are not fooled,” Demian Brady, the National Taxpayers Union Foundation’s vice president of research, told DailyMail.com.
“While I appreciate the First Lady’s desire to support her son through this difficult process, travel to the trial should be a personal expense and not a taxpayer expense,” said David Williams, president of the Taxpayers Protection Alliance.
Jill Biden spent most of last week at the Wilmington federal courthouse, including her birthday on Monday and Friday, when her eldest granddaughter Naomi Biden testified on behalf of her father Hunter.
The Bidens have emphasized their confidence in Hunter and remain close to him as he fights charges that he lied on a federal form when he bought a gun in 2018.
If he is found guilty of lying about his drug use on a federal form when he bought a Colt Cobra revolver, he could face up to 25 years in prison.
Two of the charges carry a maximum prison sentence of ten years, the remaining a maximum of five.
Each person also has a maximum fine of $250,000.
Because it would be his first offense, it is unclear whether he will serve any jail time.
On Sunday, instead of returning to the White House, the Bidens flew the 3,600 miles from Paris to Wilmington, Del., to be there on Monday, when Hunter Biden could take the stand.
Jill Biden was in the courtroom, as was Hunter’s sister Ashley and his aunt Valerie Biden Owens.
“She’s his mother and he’s on trial, so of course she wants to be there as much as possible,” Elizabeth Alexander, the first lady’s communications director, told CNN about the first lady.
“It’s something that many parents, and maybe especially mothers, feel that when your children need you, no matter how old they get, they are always your children and you always want to be there to support them,” she added to.
