House ethics panel reviews 2 Republican lawmakers’ campaign payments to private social clubs

WASHINGTON – The House Ethics Committee said Monday it was reviewing allegations that two Republican congressmen from Texas violated ethics rules by using campaign funds to pay membership fees at private social clubs.

The bipartisan panel released its finding that Rep. Ronny Jackson’s campaign committee paid more than $6,800 in membership fees to The Amarillo Club, a fine dining club and gym in downtown Amarillo. And the ethics committee also released a report on a separate investigation that found Rep. Wesley Hunt’s campaign paid more than $5,400 in fees to The Oak Room, a private dining club in Houston.

The Ethics Committee said it will investigate the payments further, but that does not mean there are proven violations of ethics rules.

A spokeswoman for Jackson said the investigation was based on a previous tip from two years ago, that no new information had been uncovered and that his office had complied with the committee.

The Office of Congressional Ethics, which conducted the investigations, said none of the lawmakers agreed to cooperate with the reviews. The independent, nonpartisan office is tasked with reviewing allegations made against House members and other employees and referring issues it finds to the House Ethics Committee, which is made up of lawmakers.

“Unfortunately, this is not the first time that leftists at the OCE (Office of Congressional Ethics) have decided to waste taxpayer money by going after public officials for absolutely nothing,” Jackson’s office said in a statement.

Hunt’s lawyers said in response to the Ethics Committee that the congressman did not use the membership for personal use, but rather for meetings with donors and campaign consultants. Hunt believed that membership in the Post Oak Club, which grants access to a meeting room, “would be a more prudent use of campaign funds” than a campaign office, his lawyers said.

For Jackson, this isn’t the first time he’s faced scrutiny. Before being elected to the House in 2020, he was a top White House physician during the administrations of former Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump and became known for his statements on Trump’s health.

Trump nominated him for secretary of Veterans Affairs but withdrew his nomination amid allegations of professional misconduct. One internal investigation at the Department of Defense later concluded that Jackson made “sexual and derogatory” comments about a female subordinate, violated a policy on alcohol consumption on a presidential trip and took prescription sleeping medications, which raised concerns among his colleagues about his ability to provide adequate medical care.

Jackson denied these accusations and described them as politically motivated.

In the case before the Ethics Committee, Jackson’s campaign had paid monthly dues of about $175 to The Amarillo Club since 2021. Starting in April of last year, the campaign disclosed the monthly payments as “memberships for campaign purposes only ,” according to the committee report. .

The social club, which also has a gym and gives members access to affiliated clubs across the country, states on its website that its “members have created lasting bonds and a network of connections.”

The House ethics manual instructs lawmakers not to use campaign funds for personal use, including to improve their lifestyles or pay personal obligations. However, it gives them wide latitude in determining what counts as a campaign or policy expense.