Sen. Krysten Sinema (I-AZ) has spent $200,000 on private charter flights since 2020, racking up $116,000 in private flight expenses in 2023 alone with U.S. taxpayers footing the bill. The Arizona Senator has also tapped campaign funds to pay for additional travel expenses and hotel stays — along with shelling out $100,000 a month for private security. Sinema’s excessive spending has fueled speculation she may not seek re-election in 2024. She hasn’t held a public town hall event with constituents in nearly four years.
Before being elected to the U.S. Senate in 2018, Sinema pushed legislation in the House of Representatives that would limit the use of public funds by lawmakers for first-class and private air travel. “Arizonans are sick and tired of seeing Washington bureaucrats use their hard-earned tax dollars for personal gain,” she said at the time.
The unusual amount of travel spending, combined with sluggish campaign fundraising numbers, suggests Sinema may be retiring from public office and merely ‘cashing in’ while she still can. In 2023, the Senator’s campaign footed the bill for nearly $3000 in travel costs for a trip Sinema took to Europe. FEC rules stipulate campaigns can pay for a candidate’s travel expenses if the trip is for fundraising purposes. Sinema often includes a small fundraising event with her travel in order to comply with campaign finance law.
Sinema isn’t the only lawmaker raising eyebrows with their expense disclosures. Rep. Eric Swalwell’s (D-CA) campaign dolled out $20,000 for “gifts” and over $430,000 for travel in 2023. According to FEC filings, his campaign spent $13,000 on overseas travel and $350,000 on travel outside of California. Swalwell, famous for having slept with a Chinese spy, spent $54,000 in campaign funds on childcare.