U.S. Representative Katie Porter (D-CA) is responding to a claim that U.S. Senator Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) allegedly “spent over $200,000 in taxpayer funds on private chartered jet travel since 2020.”
Porter wrote on X: “Americans deserve to know when lawmakers abuse taxpayer dollars to travel—especially on private jets. My Transparency in Taxpayer-Funded Travel Act would boost accountability and inform the public where, when, and how Members of Congress travel on the taxpayers’ dime.”
[Note: The Daily Beast reports that Sinema’s colleague, former astronaut Mark Kelly (D-AZ), has spent $0 on private flights.]
Americans deserve to know when lawmakers abuse taxpayer dollars to travel—especially on private jets. My Transparency in Taxpayer-Funded Travel Act would boost accountability and inform the public where, when, and how Members of Congress travel on the taxpayers’ dime. https://t.co/x9U9EJxETn
— Rep. Katie Porter (@RepKatiePorter) January 29, 2024
Porter also called out Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for signing a law to conceal his travel records from the public. At a June 2023 hearing (below), Porter proposed a slogan for the governor’s office: “Transparency for thee, but not for me.”
Ron DeSantis: "Sunlight is the best disinfectant" for government
— Rep. Katie Porter (@RepKatiePorter) June 26, 2023
Also Ron DeSantis: *signs law to conceal his travel records*
Americans want transparency in government—not hypocrisy. I have a bill to disclose more information when elected officials travel on taxpayers' dime. pic.twitter.com/56ruw6YruO
Former Illinois Congressman and 2020 Republican presidential candidate Joe Walsh chimed in on the Sinema allegations and wrote: “This is just plain wrong. It’s wrong for an elected official to spend taxpayer dollars flying private. And voters should tell her it’s wrong.”
Note: Like Arizona Senators Sinema and Kelly, Walsh switched political parties: he left the Republican party in 2020 to become an Independent; Sinema left the Democratic party in 2022 to become an Independent; and Kelly was an Independent until 2018, when he became a Democrat.
Sinema has yet to announce if she’s running for re-election. Rep. Ruben Gallego (D) and MAGA loyalist Kari Lake (R), who lost the 2022 Arizona gubernatorial race against Governor Katie Hobbs (D), are running for her seat.
