In January, we reported that Sen. Jim Justice (R-W.Va.) had the best commute in Washington. He was flying every day on a private jet from Greenbrier Valley Airport in Lewisburg, W.Va., to Washington Reagan National Airport.
This was supposed to be a temporary arrangement.
“Well, I won’t do that as soon as I get a place to live,” Justice told us in January. “Because I came right out of the governorship on [Jan. 13], got sworn in that day, and so, really, truly, we just haven’t gotten a place yet,” Justice said. “God knows it’ll be a whole lot simpler.”
The real estate market must be very tight, because Justice is still flying private nearly every day to Washington.
Take last week as an example.
Last Monday, Justice took off from West Virginia at 4:41 p.m. and landed at DCA at 5:18 p.m. Just two hours and 26 minutes later — shortly after Senate votes — his plane was on its way back to Lewisburg.
On Tuesday, Justice took off at 4:28 p.m., landed in D.C. at 5:19 p.m. and was on his way back to West Virginia at 6:40 p.m.
On Wednesday, Justice came in a bit earlier. He left Lewisburg at 9:56 a.m., landed at DCA at 10:35 a.m. and headed back to the Mountaineer State at 9:10 p.m.
On Thursday, the plane took off at 10:38 a.m., landed in D.C. at 11:25 a.m. And Justice was back on board for a 9:50 p.m. flight, which landed at 10:26 p.m.
Justice said from “time to time” he stays in a hotel in D.C.
“To be perfectly honest, from my standpoint, it’s a pain to go back and forth,” Justice said about his daily trip on the seven-seat jet. The 74-year-old first-term senator said he hasn’t had the time to look for a place to live in Washington.
“To be honest, it’s a pain in the butt getting on and off the plane every day,” Justice said. “Talk about wear and tear.”
