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Some Republicans have been critical of House speaker’s access to long-distance transport plane.
Pelosi
WASHINGTON — The White House on Thursday defended House Speaker Nancy Pelosi against Republican criticism that her desire to fly in an Air Force transport plane is an extravagance.
“This is a silly story and I think it’s been unfair to the speaker,” White House spokesman Tony Snow said.
Republicans are taking issue with the size of the plane Pelosi would need to fly in to reach her hometown of San Francisco without refueling. There are three Air Force airplanes that have the fuel capacity to make the trip nonstop, with the largest being a military version of the Boeing 757-200.
In an interview with Fox News on Wednesday night, Pelosi speculated that Department of Defense officials were distorting the story as retribution for her stance against the war and former Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld.
The Pentagon this week informed Pelosi’s staff that she would be provided with a plane, but that its size would be based on availability and that it could not guarantee nonstop service.
After the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the Pentagon agreed to provide the House speaker, who is second in the line of presidential succession, with a military plane for added security during trips back home.
Rep. Adam Putnam of Florida, the No. 3 Republican leader, called Pelosi’s desire for a large transport plane “an extravagance of power that the taxpayers won’t swallow.”
But Snow on Thursday said the negotiations over Pelosi’s transport have been conducted solely by the House sergeant-at-arms and the Pentagon, with no direct involvement by the speaker or her office — or the White House.