Dem Senator Used Donor Cash From Joint Account With Bestie Eric Swalwell To Buy Super Bowl Tix

Senator Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) funded a trip to the Super Bowl with cash from a joint campaign account he shared with disgraced former Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA).

Read more Trump Blisters New York Times Over Report On Progress In Iran

According to a report from POLITICO, Gallego used campaign donations to fund a number of private excursions — including child care expenses and family trips to Disney World in addition to Super Bowl LVII in Glendale, Arizona, in 2023.

Gallego recently hired Andrew Bates, who served as deputy press secretary for former President Joe Biden, to manage crisis communications related to his long friendship with Swalwell as well as any interactions with the Senate Ethics Committee — interactions that may be coming sooner rather than later.

As POLITICO reported, Gallego’s campaign finance records reveal that he used money from his leadership PAC to pay for personal travel — trips to Disneyland and Disney World as well as to Chicago and Miami — and other personal and family expenses. At least once, the report claims, Gallego used campaign cash or money from his PAC to pay his mother-in-law $400 for child care — and since 2019, withdrew more than $18,000 for child care-related expenses.

Gallego, according to the outlet, appeared to concede that he had spent campaign funds on child care, saying in a statement, “This is not breaking news. With the rising costs of child care and the burden it has on the budgets of American families, Democrats and Republicans in Congress and the White House alike regularly travel with their wives and children, as is permitted by the FEC.”

Read more The Trader Joe’s Tote Bag Frenzy Has Reached A New Level

The FEC does allow payments designated for child care, travel, and food — provided the events are campaign-related. Any expenses that would exist regardless of the campaign are not covered by those exemptions.

In addition to managing the questions likely to come from the Senate Ethics Committee regarding his spending habits, Gallego has worked to distance himself from Swalwell — his friend and former roommate — as he prepares for a potential presidential run in 2028.

Since the report also details the Super Bowl trip with Swalwell and his wife — paid for with funds from a joint campaign account that he and Swalwell shared — maintaining that distance may prove more difficult in the future.

Read more Bill Maher Rips Into Dems, Kamala For Mocking Patriotism Until They Need Votes