 The aides evaluated such expenditures prior to the outbreak of a similar scandal regarding exorbitant travel costs by Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, which later led to Price's resignation.In April 2018, it was also reported that Pruitt had two of his aides and three security agents sent on a trip to Australia in August 2017 to set up future meetings for him; the five staff members flew business class, costing taxpayers a combined $45,000 for airfare alone.Each ticket cost $9,000 (an economy class ticket would have cost approximately $1,400).