Story highlights Zinke defended his use of charter aircraft, outlining three flights

Otherwise, he says he flies coach

Washington (CNN) Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke on Friday called the recent news about his use of private jets "a little BS" as he outlined three trips he made on charter aircraft.

In a statement he gave before giving his policy speech at the Heritage Foundation, Zinke confirmed that he's used private jet travel on three occasions and has flown military aircraft at other times as well.

"Using tax dollars wisely and ethically is a greatest responsibility and is at the heart of good government," he said. "Unfortunately there are some times when Interior has to utilize charter services because we often travel to areas that don't have a lot of flight options."

Zinke said, however that he will continue to use charter planes and fly on military planes when necessary. He added that on all other occasions he flies coach.

Zinke listed the three distinct instances when he used non-commercial or non-military aircraft for travel.

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