Josh Shapiro used billionaire Michael Rubin’s luxury helicopter on $68K in campaign trips last year

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro won’t be caught sitting in the Lincoln Tunnel on visits to New York City. Or, really, in any traffic on I-95.

If he’s not flying on the state plane or state police helicopter around Pennsylvania, he’s on a campaign-funded private jet — or flying on Fanatics billionaire CEO Michael Rubin’s luxury helicopter, campaign finance records show.

Shapiro, a first-term Democrat, used Rubin’s helicopter last year for at least nine round-trip flights, including several to New York City, worth nearly $68,000, according to campaign finance reports, raising questions from lawmakers and good-government experts.

It appears Shapiro traveled on the helicopter for trips to New York for a number of campaign appearances, including those on The View, The Daily Show, a Clinton Foundation conference, and more.

Shapiro has faced criticism from some Pennsylvania Republicans for a perceived high-flying lifestyle, including his frequent usage of the state plane and his use of a state police helicopter, which went unreported in government records until this year, to get around the commonwealth for public appearances. Shapiro’s office maintains that frequent air travel is necessary to be able to get around the vast state and do the job as governor for all of Pennsylvania.

The 51-year-old from Abington Township has used the state plane more than any other Pennsylvania governor since at least 2012, when a state law went into effect requiring the publication of monthly flight logs for usage of the state plane.

What’s more: He spent more than $557,000 on private jets for campaign trips last year, including to Wisconsin, Michigan, Georgia, and North Carolina in the heat of the 2024 presidential race, as he became a national Democratic surrogate with rumored future presidential ambitions of his own.

But it’s Shapiro’s acceptance of in-kind contributions from Rubin in the form of luxury helicopter rides that has raised questions from good-government advocates about the access the uber-wealthy have to Pennsylvania’s top executive.

Rubin’s in-kind contributions to Shapiro through the use of his luxury helicopter — a 2013 AgustaWestland Philadelphia AW139 that seats 15 passengers — is legal and permitted under Pennsylvania’s campaign finance law. But to Rabbi Michael Pollack, who runs the anti-corruption group March on Harrisburg, the contributions can give the appearance of favoritism for Rubin or other billionaires.

“Our governor should not be accepting free rides in a billionaire’s helicopter because then he is more responsive to the concerns of that billionaire over the needs of the people of Pennsylvania,” Pollack added.

Pollack and March on Harrisburg have been advocating for years for the legislature to implement a gift ban and to include campaign contribution limits. The absence of both, he argues, leads to Pennsylvania’s lawmakers caring less about the issues facing regular Pennsylvanians, such as the cost of living, healthcare, and more.

State Reps. Jared Solomon (D., Philadelphia) and Jim Rigby (R., Cambria) introduced a bill this legislative session to ban gifts to any Pennsylvania public official for more than $50, but it carves out “reasonable exceptions” for transportation and lodging expenses, according to a news release. Gifts are usually considered to be direct monetary donations, which differ from in-kind contributions like Rubin’s, where a service is given to a political candidate and the value is later estimated and reported on campaign finance filings.

A spokesperson for Shapiro declined to explain why the governor has used Rubin’s helicopter, but said criticism about who Shapiro is working for “is completely out of touch with reality when it comes to how Governor Shapiro leads this commonwealth.”

“The governor has been clear that for too long, our system has left too many people and communities behind; that is why he has spent his career taking on powerful interests and fighting for the people of Pennsylvania — and why he will continue doing so every day as governor,” said Manuel Bonder, Shapiro’s government press secretary, who also works on Shapiro’s political campaign outside the hours of his state job.

“Every day, Governor Shapiro and his administration are focused on delivering for working families,” Bonder added.

Shapiro’s campaign provided passenger manifests for three of the helicopter trips he accepted from Rubin, but declined to provide them for six other trips. Campaign finance laws do not require campaigns to provide this information.

Shapiro appears to have used Rubin’s helicopter, at least in part, to travel from Philadelphia to New York City for a number of events: on Sept. 6 to appear on The View, on Sept. 23 to appear at a Clinton Foundation conference, on Oct. 28 to appear on The Daily Show, and on Dec. 7 to speak at the annual Pennsylvania Society dinner. There are several trips — including one where he reportedly flew to New York with Rubin in early January 2024 — where Shapiro had no public appearances listed on his official schedule and it is unclear whom he was meeting with while in NYC.

Of the trips for which Shapiro’s campaign provided passenger manifests, the governor took at least one helicopter trip with Rubin and Rubin’s chief of staff, Saj Cherian, as well as with top members of the Shapiro administration and members of his protective detail.

A Fanatics spokesperson noted that Pennsylvania allows for in-kind campaign contributions of goods or services, such as travel.

“When Michael donates the use of his helicopter to Governor Shapiro for travel, the value of that travel is reported in accordance with Pennsylvania campaign finance law,” the spokesperson added.

“Rarely, if ever, is Michael present with Governor Shapiro on the helicopter,” he added, noting that Rubin and Shapiro are “longtime friends.”

Rubin has dipped his toes into Pennsylvania politics on several occasions, including his financial support for Shapiro’s 2022 run for governor, his work on criminal justice reform legislation, and his advocacy for a school voucher program, which Shapiro also supports but has yet to achieve.

Rubin did not contribute financially to Shapiro’s political action committee last year, except for the approximately $68,000 in in-kind contributions for helicopter rides, listed as “travel” on campaign finance reports.

Shapiro is not the first or last politician to accept a gift, Pollack said, noting President Donald Trump’s recent plans to accept a luxury jet from Qatar to serve as the new Air Force One, as Trump continues to disregard or challenge federal laws and precedent.

Any gift or contribution has the possibility to make politicians beholden to powerful interests instead of the public, Pollack said.

“Our public officials should not be accepting rides from the ultrarich, they should not be accepting airplanes from foreign governments, and they should be fully dependent on the public so they are truly public servants,” he added.