From left to right, Rep. Monica de la Cruz, R-Texas, Rep. Wesley Hunter, R-Texas, Ronnie Jackson, R-Texas, and De Texas Republican Rep. Dan Crenshaw showed off a temporary tattoo of the state of Texas in honor of Texas Independence Day. Later, on the steps of the U.S. Capitol.
Tom Williams | Chongqing Roll Call Company | Getty Images
The House Ethics Committee said on Monday it would review a report from a congressional watchdog agency and found “good reason” to believe that U.S. Reps. Ronny Jackson and Wesley Hunter used thousands of dollars in campaign funds for personal use.
The campaign committees of the two Republican congressmen representing districts in Texas have made payments to private social clubs for years, according to separate reports from the independent Office of Congressional Ethics.
The office found that between 2020 and 2024, Jackson’s committee, Texans Support Ronnie Jackson, spent nearly $12,000 on dues, fees, meals and other expenses related to the Amarillo club. The Marillo Club is a dining club, gym, and meeting room in Amarillo, Texas.
According to OCE, Hunter’s campaign committee paid more than $5,400 in dues and fees to the Oak Room, a private club at the Post Oak Hotel in Houston, in 2022 and 2023.
In both reports, the office said it found “good reason to believe” that each member of Congress diverted campaign funds from their campaign committees “for personal use” or that their committees “spent money not in good faith.” campaign or campaign finance.” political purpose. “
The bipartisan House Ethics Committee said in a press release Monday afternoon that it received a referral from OCE regarding Jackson and Hunter in late March. The group, led by Mississippi Republican Party Chairman Michael Guest and Pennsylvania Democratic Party ranking member Susan Wild, jointly decided on May 9 to review the matter.
Hunter’s press release included lengthy responses from the members of Congress’ lawyers who denied that any campaign funds were used for personal use.
“All payments made by Hunting Congress to the Post Oak Hotel, including Post Oak Club membership fees, were used solely for campaign-related purposes,” the congressman’s attorney wrote in a 12-page response. and not for any personal purposes.
Hunter “has not established a campaign office,” the attorney wrote, and he believed the Oak Room membership fee “would be a more prudent use of campaign funds than renting a campaign office in Houston.”
A spokesman for Hunter’s office told CNBC, “We believe we have cooperated fully with the House Ethics Committee and expect this matter to be dismissed soon.”
Jackson’s office did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment. The ethics committee’s press release related to Jackson did not include any response from his representatives.
The OCE report states that if any member of Congress’s campaign committee spends funds “not for bona fide campaign or political purposes,” that member “may have violated House rules, standards of conduct, and federal law.”
The report said that neither Jackson nor Hunter cooperated with their investigation, although Hunter “initially” provided “some limited information.” OCE recommended that the House Ethics Committee issue subpoenas to both members of Congress.
Jackson, who served as White House physician to then-Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump before joining Congress in 2020, was previously accused by OCE of misusing campaign donations at the Amarillo club.
In the more than two years since the House Ethics Committee unveiled the allegations, Jackson’s campaign “continued to make payments” to the Amarillo club, according to a report released Monday.
