Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Thursday defended his request to take a government plane on his honeymoon.

Mnuchin said the request was about national security, and “not about convenience.”

He had been heavily criticised after reports that he asked to take a government plane with his new wife, actress Louise Linton, to Europe for their honeymoon this summer.

Speaking at the POLITICO Pro Policy Summit on Thursday, Mnuchin described the controversy over the request as overblown.

The Treasury Department considered it, he said, because he needed access to secure communications channels while on the trip.

“Let me be clear: I’m very sensitive to the use of government funds,” Mnuchin said.

“I’ve never asked the government to pay for my personal travel, and this was purely about alternatives of how I’d be able to be involved for national security.”

Mnuchin said he spends “probably over 50 percent” of his time on national security issues and sanctions almost daily.

But speaking at the POLITICO Pro Policy Summit on Thursday, Mnuchin described the controversy over the request as overblown. The Treasury Department considered it, he said, because he needed access to secure communications channels while on the trip. He added that he ultimately withdrew the request after finding another option.

“Let me be clear: I’m very sensitive to the use of government funds,” Mnuchin said. “I’ve never asked the government to pay for my personal travel, and this was purely about alternatives of how I’d be able to be involved for national security.”

Mnuchin said he spends “probably over 50 percent” of his time on national security issues and sanctions and speaks to President Donald Trump and officials such as Defense Secretary James Mattis almost daily.

“This was something that, again, we just considered amongst other things,” Mnuchin said at another point.

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