Kerry erupts after his private jet use is mocked in House hearing, denies ever owning one
Fox News
Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry lashed out at House lawmakers during a committee hearing on Thursday over the criticisms of his use of a private jet that has emitted hundreds of metric tons of carbon, even as he battles climate change.
“I just don’t agree with your facts, which began with the presentation of one of the most outrageously persistent lies that I hear, which is this private jet,” Kerry said during a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on Thursday. “We don’t own a private jet. I don’t own a private jet. I personally have never owned a private jet. And obviously it’s pretty stupid to talk about coming in a private jet from the State Department up here. I just honestly, if that’s where you want to go, go.”
Kerry, who did not deny traveling on a private jet, was responding to Republican Rep. Cory Mills, who told Kerry that he hoped “it wasn’t too problematic for your operational team and your private jet to get here.”
Kerry has been widely criticized for advocating for drastic climate change rules while also traveling to events on a private jet that was owned by Flying Squirrel LLC., a charter company owned by Kerry’s wife, Teresa Heinz-Kerry, and in which Kerry reported owning a more than $1 million stake on a financial disclosure.
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Fox News Digital exclusively reported last year that the Kerry family jet, a Gulfstream GIV-SP, made a total of 48 trips lasting more than 60 hours and emitted an estimated 715,886 pounds, or 325 metric tons, of carbon since President Biden was sworn into office.
A spokesperson for Kerry told Fox News Digital this year that the family sold the jet to a New York-based hedge fund during the summer of 2022.
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Kerry has previously defended his use of private jets to travel. In 2019, he told Icelandic reporter Jóhann Bjarni Kolbeinsson that he has to “fly to meet with people and get things done,” that he had devoted his life to fighting climate change and that he offsets his carbon consumption.
Kerry was criticized by conservatives online following his comment in the hearing including a tweet from GOP Congressman Andy Biggs who said, “He doesn’t own one but he sure does use one!”
Kerry’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
Fox News Digital’s Thomas Catenacci contributed to this report