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. “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 Rep. Cory Mills, R-Fla., 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 Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., who said, “He doesn’t own one but he sure does use one!”
In a later exchange, Kerry acknowledged that his wife owned a plan, but said he does not fly on a private jet. “I fly commercially,” he said.
But when asked if he has ever flown on a private jet in the Biden administration, Kerry said, “possibly once.”
“Secretary Kerry has never owned a private jet, flies commercially, and is actively working on initiatives like the First Movers Coalition, which has helped major airlines like Delta and United in their commitment to invest in sustainable aviation fuels that reduce greenhouse pollution while allowing Americans to continue to enjoy travel,” a State Department spokesman said after the hearing. “Secretary Kerry has never owned any stake in Flying Squirrel LLC.”
Fox News Digital’s Thomas Catenacci contributed to this report