A Federal Election Commission member criticized Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) at a hearing Thursday when discussing the congressman’s request for clarification on using campaign funds to pay for overnight childcare when he is away from his children for work.
ERIC SWALWELL IS UNFIT FOR CONGRESS AND OWES LAUREN BOEBERT AN APOLOGY
“To be real honest with you, I’m actually going to pass judgment on it,” said Commissioner Trey Trainor, who was appointed by former President Donald Trump, according to Business Insider. “I think it’s abhorrent that Congressman Swalwell would have such a young child and want to leave them in the care of someone else for a weeklong trip overseas and using donor contributions to pay for that. I think it’s inappropriate we even had to address this question.”
Swalwell’s legal team asked for clarification on the funds in May, citing the congressman’s travels and late nights as a reason for the request. The team additionally told the FEC that Swalwell’s wife also worked full time, with the couple having three children still in diapers. The childcare costs would only be required during the times neither parent is able to be with the children.
Prior FEC rulings have allowed the use of campaign funds for childcare purposes if the reason for the childcare is related to the campaign. The FEC determined the funds only exist because of campaign activity, therefore using the funds to pay for childcare while congressional members work on their campaigns is permissible, according to a ruling in 2018. Swalwell’s team also asked if he could pay for childcare costs from his campaign if traveling internationally at the request of a foreign government.
The FEC has also previously ruled that travel for minor children with a member of Congress can be paid for by the campaign, even if the child does not partake in a campaign event.
FEC Commissioner Ellen Weintraub, a Democrat appointed by former President George W. Bush, called Trainor’s response to Swalwell’s request disrespectful to the congressman.
“I have never seen a requestor treated so disrespectfully by a member of this Commission,” Weintraub tweeted. “The FEC enforces the law. We do not ‘pass judgment’ on the personal lives of those who come before us asking for guidance.”
Trainor responded that he had never “seen campaign donors treated so disrespectfully.”
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Swalwell, who ran a brief campaign for president in 2020, has come under scrutiny in the past after using campaign money to fund a high-profile life.
In 2021, conservative nonprofit group the American Accountability Foundation filed a complaint with the FEC, alleging that Swalwell paid a family member $17,000 in one year to watch his children. He also allegedly used campaign finances to pay for a family vacation and spent tens of thousands of dollars on alcohol and limousine services.
