July 20, 2018
Sen. Rand Paul spent hundreds of donor dollars on shopping trips and thousands on meals, travel and other expenses abroad, according to a report from nonpartisan watchdog groups released this week.
The spending was funneled through a political leadership committee, which are meant to enable lawmakers to donate to other political campaigns to secure leadership positions. But, according to the "All Expenses Paid" report, they're often used to fund "lavish lifestyles on their donors' dimes."
Paul, Kentucky's junior senator, spent $11,043 at restaurants in Italy and Malta last year through his leadership PAC, Reinventing a New Direction, according to the report.
In the same year, he spent $4,492 on limousine services in Rome and $1,904 on a hotel in Athens that boasts "breathtaking panoramic views."
His PAC, known as RAND PAC, also spent $337 on apparel at a Nebraska Men's Wearhouse, $438 on apparel at a shoe store on Madison Avenue in New York City, $201 at TJ Maxx and $1,575 at a restaurant in the Trump Hotel.
His expenses likely aren't against the law. They do, however, illustrate his use of political contributions for expenses that don't fall squarely in the realm of donations to other campaigns.
Paul is also highlighted in the report for his lower-than-average contributions to other candidates or committees. The report says less than 7 percent of his expenses over the past three election cycles have gone to others, according to figures from the Center for Responsive Politics. On average, 45 percent of lawmakers' leadership PAC spending goes toward such donations.
The Center for Responsive Politics shows that in the 2018 cycle, Paul's contributions to other candidates constitute 15.6 percent of spending from his leadership PAC.
The "All Expenses Paid" report, from Issue One and the Campaign Legal Center, both nonpartisan nonprofits, calls for changes to the leadership PAC fund regulations, arguing that such dollars are being abused with personal expenses by lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.
"Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle have raised and spent millions from their leadership PACs. In doing so, they blur the lines between official and personal activity while schmoozing at venues far beyond the eyes, as well as the pocketbooks, of most of their constituents," the report said.
Paul spokeswoman Kelsey Cooper said the PAC's expenses are for political or fundraising purposes, not personal. And she added that travel expenses are covered by the PAC "to save taxpayer funds."
"We chose to finance travel this way to save taxpayer funds, rather than at taxpayer expense as nearly every other elected official does," she said.
Every stop paid for through the PAC "included fundraising events with Americans overseas and expenses for the donor events," Cooper wrote in the statement. She added that Paul's been active on issues of interest to Americans living abroad.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky's senior senator, was not named in the report, which focused on egregious expenditures or some of the leadership PACs that spend the least on contributions to other candidates.
Other Kentucky lawmakers mentioned in the report:
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