Arizona Democrat Ruben Gallego is facing fresh scrutiny over his campaign finances, just days after traveling to South Carolina, the first Democratic presidential primary state, last Friday.
A Politico report examined Gallego’s use of political donor funds, detailing thousands of dollars in spending from campaign accounts on travel and high-end events, including expenses tied not only to him but also to members of his family.
Since launching his U.S. Senate campaign in 2023, Gallego’s leadership PAC has covered trips involving his family to several destinations, among them Florida, Illinois, and Disney properties in both California and Florida.
Federal Election Commission records also show that his political accounts have reimbursed him for more than $18,000 in child-care expenses dating back to 2019.
One payment drawing particular attention was a $400 reimbursement made to his wife’s mother for babysitting services.
The report prompted reaction from Michael LaRosa, a longtime spokesman for former First Lady Jill Biden, who said on X that he had previously donated to Gallego but later requested his contribution be returned.
“Needless to say, I’m thrilled that I requested — and received — a refund of my own contribution to him just last week. Democrats and donors should read this buyer-beware reporting,” LaRosa wrote.
Campaign filings further show that Gallego and his wife attended the 2023 Super Bowl in Arizona using a shared political account he maintained with former California Representative Eric Swalwell.
Arizona Democrat Senator Ruben Gallego speaks during the National Action Network (NAN) National Convention in New York City on April 9, 2026
Ruben Gallego with wife Sydney and daughter Isla walk from a polling location after dropping off their voting ballots Wednesday, October 16, 2024, in Phoenix
X user Essem Harris noted, ‘basically, the country’s highest-paid CEO paid for Gallego and Swalwell to attend the Super Bowl in luxury while they raided their own campaign accounts. Absolutely disgraceful.’
A ‘Progressive Dem’ political commentator who posts on X using the handle, @electionsjoe, also chimed in, adding that ‘Ruben Gallego should repay every single cent and refund his donors. Along with paying multiple fines,’ also noting ‘this behavior is unacceptable.’
Campaign finance regulations permit candidates and officeholders to spend political money on expenses such as travel, meals, events, and child care when those costs are connected to campaign or official activity.
The restrictions are looser for leadership PACs, which can spend money on a wider range of fundraising-related activities.
A person familiar with the matter noted that the senator’s wife, children, mother-in-law, and au pair have often traveled alongside him for events supported by donors.
Gallego said the expenses were permitted and pointed to the financial strain of child care on working families. He said elected officials from both parties frequently travel with their spouses and children and use campaign funds for child care when federal rules allow it.
‘This is not breaking news,’ Gallego told Politico. ‘With the rising costs of child care and the burden it has on the budgets of American families, Democrats and Republicans in Congress and the White House alike regularly travel with their wives and children, as is permitted by the FEC,’ he added.
One account from which the luxury expenses were made was a former joint fundraising committee, the ‘Swallego Victory Fund’, which was shared by Gallego and his former close friend, California congressman and one-time gubernatorial front-runner Eric Swalwell.
Jill Biden’s longtime spokesman Michael LaRosa noted on X that he was one Gallego donor who asked for his money back
Eric Swalwell and Ruben Gallego at the US Capitol in September of 2021
Swalwell dropped out of the California gubernatorial race after a sexual assault allegation from a former staffer forced him to quit.
Swalwell has been accused of sexual misconduct by at least five women, including a former staffer who alleged that Swalwell, who is married, raped her twice when she was too intoxicated to consent, in 2019 and 2024. She is one of four women who have made allegations against the Democrat.
Swalwell announced he was suspending his campaign after the accusations came to light, saying he was ‘deeply sorry for mistakes in judgment I’ve made in my past,’ while disputing what he called ‘false allegations’ against him.
The PAC was disbanded earlier in the 2025-2026 electoral cycle, per FEC records, after having raised and spent just over $55,000 in the 2023-2024 cycle.
