Kamala campaign spent $2.6 million on private jets leading up to Election Day

The Kamala Harris campaign spent $2.6 million on private jet travel leading up to the final days of her presidential run, contributing to a total expenditure of $12 million for such flights.

Between October 1 and October 17, Harris traveled extensively across the country, racking up nearly $2.2 million in payments to Private Jet Services Group and an additional $430,000 to charter flight broker Advanced Aviation Team, according to Federal Election Commission data reported by the New York Post. The total amount could be even higher, as the campaign's spending records from the final weeks have not yet been made public.

The large sums spent on private jet travel have sparked controversy, given Harris's past statements on climate change, which she described as an “existential threat” to humanity. She has previously called for reductions in carbon emissions despite private jets polluting up to 14 times more than commercial flights.

“Kamala Harris and a lot of pro-climate leaders have a lot of hypocrisy with the words that they state and the realities they must think are real,” Benji Backer, founder and executive chairman of the American Conservation Coalition, told the New York Post. “We need sensible solutions on environment and climate issues, but we’re not going to get them when there’s so much hypocrisy coming from the elitists that everyone else needs to change their lives except for them.” 

Addressing environmental concerns, Private Jet Services Group has claimed that all its flights are carbon-neutral due to its “reforestation program.”

The scrutiny of the Harris campaign’s spending on private airfare comes as the campaign has been widely criticized for how it chose to spend its money prior to Harris’ crushing electoral defeat. One example was a report that revealed that the campaign spent six figures to build a set for Harris’s appearance on the Call Her Daddy podcast.

The Harris campaign was able to raise $1 billion during her brief tenure as the Democratic nominee for president. However, after the election, the campaign was forced to continue to solicit donations post-election to pay off remaining debt.