Support for Sununu Is Tempered

The White House on Monday issued a qualified defense of Chief of Staff John H. Sununu’s extensive use of government planes for travel to ski resorts and political appearances--making clear that the taxpayer-subsidized travel was something that Sununu chose, not something President Bush required.

A White House policy dating to 1987 “authorizes” but does not “require” the chief of staff and the President’s national security adviser to use military airplanes for any travel, White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater said. The rule “does require discretion and decision on the part of the chief of staff and he makes that whenever he travels,” Fitzwater added.

Fitzwater insisted that “there is no impropriety that has shown here,” and added that Bush “supports the policy” on use of military planes by top aides. But the tone of the White House statements appeared to be a notable shift away from the strong initial defense of Sununu issued over the weekend.

After reports in the Washington Post and U.S. News & World Report revealed that Sununu has taken more than 60 trips on Air Force jets--including frequent visits to his home state of New Hampshire and some excursions to skiing resorts in Colorado and elsewhere--White House officials said that Sununu was required to take military planes for all travel to be in “immediate voice contact with the White House at all times.”

By contrast, Monday’s statements emphasized that the decision to take government planes was a judgment by Sununu and appeared to leave it up to him to quiet the political problems his travel arrangements have caused.

At the same time, Republicans on Capitol Hill were slow to rush to Sununu’s defense, reflecting the poor relations between Bush’s congressional supporters and his pugnacious chief of staff.

“There’s a feeling that he stuck it to us, and now he’s getting it back,” said an aide to a senior Republican congressman.

Although there is as yet no indication that the travel flap could cost Sununu his job, the controversy, and the tepid defenses, have underlined how widely disliked Bush’s chief of staff has become.

The White House, Fitzwater said, will release records showing in which cases Sununu reimbursed the government for personal travel. White House aides at first suggested that the information might be available Monday, but by the end of the day said that the records were still being compiled and that no disclosure would be made until today at the earliest.

Sununu aides said that the chief of staff, himself, had favored release of the information as a way of quieting the controversy. But Fitzwater took pains to link the disclosure order to Bush, not the chief of staff.

“I asked the President this morning and he said: ‘Release it, put it all out,’ ” Fitzwater said.

In any case, the delay in processing the reports was unfortunate from Sununu’s standpoint as it will guarantee that the controversy will extend for at least another day. Sununu discussed the controversy with Bush Monday morning after returning--by military jet--from a weekend trip to New Hampshire.

While they await review of the records, Bush’s top aides took a cautious approach to defending the irascible and often controversial chief of staff.

“Only John and Ed know what those records show,” said one senior White House official, referring to Sununu and his aide Ed Rogers. “If it shows he took a trip to Vail and called it official because he gave someone an award, we could be in trouble.”

Under government policy, officials who fly on government planes are required to reimburse the Treasury if the purpose of the trip is not “official business.” If a trip has an “official” purpose, the government picks up the full cost.

Even when an official does reimburse the government for a personal trip, however, the rate charged is that for a commercial ticket--a price far less than the actual cost to the government of running the Air Force plane, generally a C-20. The C-20 is the military equivalent of the Gulfstream 3 corporate jet. The Air Force lists the hourly operating rate for the 12-passenger C-20 at $3,945, not counting the pay of the five-member crew.

While they qualified their own responses, Bush aides expressed concern about the notable lack of support for Sununu among Republicans on Capitol Hill, many of whom have felt the heat of Sununu’s temper over the last two years.

The White House had braced itself for a barrage of Democrats seeking to take political advantage of the Sununu story. But they had expected to hear support from their own congressional troops. Instead, there was mostly silence.

Since becoming chief of staff at the beginning of the Administration, Sununu has angered many members of Congress, who complain that he bullies them; members of the White House staff, who say he constantly second-guesses them, and reporters, who find him both contentious and contemptuous. White House officials suggested Monday that the extensive news coverage of the issue reflects Sununu’s poor relations with much of the Washington press corps.

By contrast, virtually no questions have been raised about use of military planes by National Security Adviser Brent Scowcroft, who travels less often than Sununu but who is widely respected in Washington.

“If he was a beloved figure, there might be some people speaking up for him,” said an aide to a congressional Republican leader. Sununu, the aide added, “is not beloved.”

Staff writer Paul Houston contributed to this story.