President-elect Donald Trump's pick for transportation secretary, former congressman Sean Duffy, recently dipped into old campaign funds to pay expenses at the Ritz-Carlton hotel giant, records show.
Duffy disclosed having around $2 million in his campaign committee as of October, Bloomberg Government reported. The ex-Wisconsin House member cut a $5,700 check in March from his campaign to the Ritz-Carlton for "travel," which preceded payments totaling around $6,200 combined in 2020 and 2021 there for the same earmarked reason, according to Federal Election Commission filings.
"Sean Duffy will be a phenomenal Secretary of Transportation," said Karoline Leavitt, the spokeswoman for the Trump transition. "This is a non-story."
Nevertheless, news of the payments could provide ammunition during Duffy's confirmation hearings for Democrats eager to link Trump's nominees to alleged ethics issues. Former lawmakers such as Duffy are allowed to use campaign funds to support nonprofit groups, political parties, and other candidates, but they are prohibited from using any funds for personal use.
"Several former members have been fined by the FEC for using excess campaign funds to pay for personal travel," Brett Kappel, a campaign finance attorney in Washington, D.C., told the news outlet.
"Using campaign funds to pay for travel or meals or various other charges in connection with a campaign or official duties would not be permitted for someone long after they’ve left office because they are no longer serving or seeking elected office," said Saurav Ghosh, who directs the federal campaign finance reform program at the Campaign Legal Center, a left-leaning watchdog group. "The nexus that’s required to use campaign funds simply isn’t there."
Duffy served in Congress from 2011 to 2019, before heading to K Street to lobby and also becoming a co-host on Fox News. At least one of Duffy's Ritz-Carlton bills was for him to attend a fundraising retreat hosted by the National Republican Congressional Committee, according to Lee Goodman, a former FEC chairman who was made available for an interview arranged by the Trump transition.
"The dollar figures at issue here are not large, and the circumstances are all defensible," said Goodman. The attorney added that “even if there were questions about personal use," he is "certain the Federal Election Commission would not pursue enforcement action over them."
Dan Backer, a Republican campaign finance attorney, views the scrutiny of the Ritz-Carlton payments as unserious.
"This is a particularly desperate attempt by Democrats to pass off a White Castle nothing burger as prime porterhouse, but, all too typically, it’s just a little bit of sizzle and no substance," Backer told the Washington Examiner.
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Duffy was recently a member of the advisory board for BGR Group, a lobbying firm that he joined in 2019. His clients, among others, have included S&P Global and Gramercy Funds Management, an investment group based in the ultra-wealthy town of Greenwich, Connecticut.
Duffy, 53, also served as the district attorney of Ashland County, Wisconsin, from 2002 to 2008.
