Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) said the delay in removing Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price from his cabinet position in the Trump Administration showed “the extent to which the Trump Administration allows its senior officials to put themselves, and partisan politics, ahead of families and communities.”

Price has been under much scrutiny in recent days after news reports determined he had spent more than million dollars on private chartered flights in the United States and military flights abroad. In the past, before joining the Trump Administration, Price had been highly critical of the use of charted aircraft by elected officials.

Murray, the top Democrat on the Senate health committee, released the following statement Friday after the announcement of Price’s resignation:

“Even before his taxpayer-funded luxury travel was discovered, Secretary Price was an unacceptable choice for Secretary of Health and Human Services— not only given the serious, unanswered questions about improper financial benefits stemming from his work in Congress, but also because of his ideologically driven approach to health care and in particular women’s health and reproductive rights,” Murray said.

“The fact that this decision took this long only indicates the extent to which the Trump Administration allows its senior officials to put themselves, and partisan politics, ahead of families and communities.

“I hope President Trump takes this opportunity to select a new Secretary of Health and Human Services who will truly put patients and families first, and I look forward to a rigorous and comprehensive nomination process,” Murray said.