WASHINGTON — Freshman Sen. Ruben Gallego, who has cultivated 2028 presidential buzz, blew his campaign war chest on luxury outings, family travel, Super Bowl tickets, and more.
Gallego (D-Ariz.) used campaign coffers and PAC money to foot the bill for travel to Disney World, Disneyland, Miami, Chicago, and elsewhere with his family, Federal Election Commission records reveal.
“He just spends his campaign account like it’s his personal slush fund,” a source familiar with Gallego’s spending habits told Politico, which first reported on the luxury campaign spending. “He’s using campaign cash to live a luxury lifestyle.”
But Gallego’s office insists the spending was all connected to political events and fundraisers, even if he used that money to cover his family’s travel and accommodations in some instances.
In 2023, Gallego tapped into a joint campaign account with his ex-buddy, disgraced former Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.), to attend Super Bowl LVII in Arizona with his wife.
The “Swallego Victory Fund,” which both Gallego and Swalwell set up in October 2022, held a fundraiser at the big game and spent over $37,000 between tickets and meals at The Henry, a restaurant in Phoenix.
Their fundraiser cost $5,000 to participate in, and the Democrats raised over $56,000 from it, netting about $8,000 a piece.
A spokesperson stressed that Super Bowl tickets were purchased at “fair market value” and noted that it is a common practice to host fundraisers and events at sports games.
Notably, the Swallego Victory Fund stopped raising funds soon thereafter.
Gallego, a father of three, had launched his Senate campaign roughly three weeks prior.
Other pols have similarly benefited from campaign cash for major outings. President Trump, for instance, has had the Republican National Committee foot the bill for his attendance at a World Series game. Fellow Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly (D) attended Super Bowl LVII as well, but paid for it himself, according to Politico.
Gallego also spent $18,000 from his PAC and campaign coffers on child care since 2019. That included a $400 payment to his mother-in-law for babysitting.
“The FEC has stated that childcare may be reimbursed,” Gallego said in response to the revelations. “There is a simple reason: we want Congress to look like America. Not just people without children, those with grown children, or those from wealthy backgrounds.”
“I’m one of the few members of Congress with young children,” he added. “Because I’m not a millionaire (I’m one of the least wealthy members of Congress), every month is a game of childcare, travel, and scheduling balancing.”
“[T]hese pieces swirling around are accusing me of this: fundraising as all politicians do, but doing it as the father of children under 10. That’s it.”
Technically, FEC rules permit lawmakers to use campaign committee cash for child care, travel, and more if they’re not being deployed for “personal use.”
For leadership PACs like his JUNTOS PAC, the rules are even more flexible and don’t have a “personal use” provision.
Gallego also took his family on trips to Disney World and Disneyland, where he participated in PAC retreats. His office insisted they were all related to political activities, including Rep. Lou Correa’s PAC retreat.
Records show the Disneyland jaunt cost close to $1,500 for accommodations, not including flights.
At one point, he traveled to St. Barts for his wife, Sydney’s St. Barts boss’ birthday, and then went to Miami for his wife’s own birthday, which included a hotel stay that cost his PAC over $9,000, per FEC records.
Gallego’s team contends the Miami jaunt was for fundraising purposes on President’s Day weekend, and that the senator partook in nine different political events where he raised over $50,000.
Last year, Gallego went to Chicago’s Little Village, where he railed against federal immigration enforcement activity there. During that time, the senator’s and his family’s accommodations cost his PAC close to $1,500.
The Arizona senator was just in South Carolina last week, which was the kickoff state on the Democrats’ 2024 presidential calendar amid buzz about his potential 2028 aspirations.