Sen. Ruben Gallego Caught Up In Another Scandal

Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) has spent the last few years positioning himself as the future of the Democrat Party, and that narrative has taken some huge hits recently.

First, there is the Eric Swalwell problem. When Swalwell resigned from Congress in April after multiple women accused him of sexual misconduct, Gallego got caught in the fallout because of their close relationship. Gallego had chaired Swalwell's failed 2020 presidential campaign and had been described repeatedly as his closest friend in Washington. When Swalwell's gubernatorial run collapsed alongside his House seat, the proximity questions landed on Gallego almost immediately. What did he know? When did he know it? He said Swalwell "lied" to him about his personal past. Democratic insiders have not found that answer satisfying.

It got worse when Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) appeared on CBS News and accused Gallego of misconduct that she described as "sexual in nature," alongside potential campaign finance violations. Sen. John Thune's office confirmed the matter had been referred to the Senate Ethics Committee.

Now, Politico is reporting that Gallego used his leadership PAC, the JUNTOS PAC, to bankroll a string of luxury family trips since launching his Senate bid in 2023, including excursions to Walt Disney World, Chicago, Miami Beach, and the Super Bowl. The PAC had raised nearly $1.5 million as of May 31, according to FEC records, and the expenditures were logged as campaign- and fundraising-related. Twenty days after announcing his Senate run, Gallego attended the 2023 Super Bowl at State Farm Stadium in Glendale through a joint account called the "Swallego Victory Fund," which he shared with then-Rep. Eric Swalwell, that had raised a total of $56,505. Swalwell's chief of staff and several donors were also in attendance.

The JUNTOS PAC covered more than $18,000 of Gallego’s child care reimbursements since 2019, including $400 paid to Gallego's mother-in-law for babysitting, which seems weird. It also financed a trip to Miami Beach, coinciding with his wife Sydney's birthday and a separate stay in St. Barts for her boss's birthday. The hotel bill alone at a Loew’s property on Miami Beach exceeded $9,000. A Gallego spokesperson described the Miami trip as "a multi-stop political and fundraising swing" without addressing the birthday element.

According to Gallego, he has not violated any FEC rules.

"This is not breaking news," he said. "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."

Leadership PACs operate outside the personal use prohibition that governs official campaign committees, which means lawmakers can spend leadership PAC funds on travel, meals, and child care as long as a fundraising function is nearby. The FEC framework is permissive and makes it easy for elected officials to combine personal and work trips, much like how sitting presidents combine campaign and official trips, allowing some costs to be shared with taxpayers. It doesn’t make it any less sleazy.

The spending story would be manageable on its own. Gallego's actual problem is that it arrived on top of several others, and his political stock isn’t going up.

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