Former Senator Kyrsten Sinema, a Democrat who later became an independent, spent much in the desert in the months leading up to her retirement. This included Saudi Arabia as well as Arizona, the state she served as a representative for in Congress for over 10 years.
Approximately 10% of the nearly $700,000 Sinema’s campaign reported spending in the last three months of 2024 went toward hotel, including over $20,000 at the upscale Le M Ridien in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. According to her campaign finance filing, an additional $756 was sent to a limited liability business associated with Marriott that operates in the nation. Although it’s unknown where the services were incurred, the report reveals that Sinema’s campaign also paid $4,000 on car services to two international businesses, one in Paris and one in London.
According to the filing, Sinema’s campaign also spent nearly $19,000 at the New York City’s The Edition Hotel, primarily on Election Day, and thousands more at other upscale hotels in the mountain resort towns of Park City, Utah, and Jackson Hole, Wyoming; the St. Regis in San Francisco; the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas; and an unnamed Ritz-Carlton.
Although the finance records don’t go into any detail about the places, her campaign filing also revealed that she spent over $15,000 on travel during that time. It’s unclear if Sinema or another member of her political operation traveled on the trips linked to the expenditures.
At a period when politicians have been under constant threat, Sinema’s biggest expense category was security costs, not hotel and airline payments. Sinema’s committee reported spending roughly $140,000 on security services (including travel), all of which were paid to a security firm based in Sinema, Arizona. Capitol Police also released new data on Monday that showed an increase in threats and statements made against members of Congress and their families over the past year. She also paid the same company $81,000 for reimbursements of her travel expenses.
Sinema spent almost as much in the last three months of last year as any other senator who left at the end of 2024, which makes the hotel and airline costs particularly noteworthy. The majority of the $210,000 spent by former Senator Tom Carper, D-Del., ($150,000) came from donations to the Senate Democratic campaign arm and $25,000 in membership fees to the U.S. Former Members of Congress Association.
Over the last three months of 2024, former New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez, a Democrat who resigned this summer following his conviction for corruption and bribery, spent about $800,000 more than Sinema. Sixty-five percent of money was spent on legal services.
Sinema has already faced criticism and scrutiny for her campaign expenditures, including other overseas trips, which are comparatively uncommon but do occasionally show up in federal campaign finance forms.
Campaign funds may be used to cover regular and essential costs associated with one’s responsibilities as a federal officeholder while closing down a committee related to leaving office, according to the Federal Election Commission. Politicians who are retiring may also donate their campaign funds to nonprofits or other political organizations.
However, the FEC prohibits politicians from using campaign cash for personal use, which is defined as an expense that would still exist even if the officeholder were not in office or if the campaign had not been launched.
In addition, Sinema’s campaign had to pay for closing her offices and returning some donations as part of her departure from Washington. She had over $4.3 million left in her campaign bank account at the conclusion of the year.
Sinema’s campaign could not be reached at the email address provided on its FEC reports. Sinema’s personal website has been taken down, and two former employees who were contacted by NBC News for comment did not respond.
Over the last three months of 2024, her campaign only managed to raise $2.52, a tax credit that was transferred by the online payroll and HR portal Gusto. Nevertheless, the document reveals that she paid a large sum for event and fundraising consulting, including over $100,000 to a company that was partially owned by one of her top fundraisers. (Those payments might have been made for services rendered prior to the filing period.)
According to the report, the Sinema campaign also spent $11,000 on meeting-related meals, including at a few renowned restaurants in Washington, D.C. The Salt Line, a well-known seafood restaurant close to the D.C. coastline, received one $2,000 reward. An further $15,000 was spent on catering events, including over $800 at a winery in Arizona where Sinema had previously worked as an intern.
Additionally, the campaign spent over $6,000 on motor insurance, roughly $10,000 on car services (including $2,700 for Uber), and $1,600 on event presents at singer Taylor Swift’s official gift shop.