Samuel Skinner decided to pay for a $2,732 exercise machine and a $3,200 catering bill after he switched last December from being secretary of transportation to White House chief of staff.
But Skinner still accepted $8,000 worth of gifts and more than $18,000 in travel and lodging expenses as transportation secretary, according to his financial disclosure form released by the White House.The form showed Skinner, a former Chicago lawyer, had assets worth between $122,000 and $405,000.
The gifts he accepted included complimentary memberships in the Capitol Hill Club, the Georgetown Club and the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club, as well as $900 and $700 sets of golf clubs, a $120 case of red wine, $140 worth of coffee and $120 replicas of Wrigley Field and Comiskey Park in Chicago.
Skinner's form said he elected to pay for the exercise machine and the caterer's bill "to eliminate any questions that might arise based on his new, broader duties."
Officials are required to report assets in ranges, making it impossible to determine exact values.
C. Boyden Gray, the president's counsel and an heir to the R.J. Reynolds tobacco fortune, listed six assets of more than $1 million each and others valued between $2.1 million and $4 million.
National security adviser Brent Scowcroft reported assets in a range of $1.7 million to $3.9 million.