US Health Secretary, Tom Price, has resigned after coming under fire for using chartered flights costing hundreds of thousands of dollars at the expense of US taxpayers.

He previously apologised after making 26 private flights since May at a cost of $400,000 (£300,000) to taxpayers.

Price has used private jets even to fly short distances, often as short as from Washington to Philadelphia.

The scandal infuriated Trump, who viewed the controversy as a needless distraction from his agenda. Over the course of the week, Trump fumed to aides about Price’s flights, which he deemed “stupid,” according to multiple sources. Instead of moving past the storm, Price’s offer to reimburse the government for only a fraction of the flights’ costs enraged Trump further.

“I was disappointed because I didn’t like it, cosmetically or otherwise. I was disappointed,” Trump said.

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