Sen. Bernie Sanders, a long‑time progressive voice and vocal supporter of the Green New Deal who has repeatedly described climate change as an “existential threat” to the world, has come under scrutiny for his use of campaign funds in 2025, a Fox News Digital review of Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings has found. According to disclosures, Sanders spent over $550,000 of his campaign contributions on private jet travel during 2025, largely while crisscrossing the country with Representative Alexandria Ocasio‑Cortez on their “Fighting Oligarchy” tour. Most of these expenditures occurred in the first two quarters of the year, when the tour schedule was most packed. Photographs obtained by media outlets show Sanders and Ocasio‑Cortez boarding and disembarking from a luxurious Bombardier Challenger private jet — an aircraft that can cost up to $15,000 per hour to operate.
Sanders has defended the decision to charter private flights, telling Fox News in 2025 that rigorous tour schedules — with multiple rallies and events each week — make commercial travel impractical, insisting it’s “the only way to get around” to speak to large groups of supporters. However, critics argue that the use of private aircraft starkly contrasts with Sanders’ outspoken climate advocacy, given that private jets are widely criticized for their disproportionately high carbon emissions compared with commercial flights.
The controversy has sparked broader debate over whether Sanders’ private jet use undercuts his message on climate change and challenges perceptions about consistency between his environmental rhetoric and campaign practices.