Congress

Top Hunt aide charged taxpayers $44,000 in hotel expenses

Published

9 months ago

January 28, 2026

The travel expenses of a Republican campaign manager in the crowded Texas Senate race have raised eyebrows for their seemingly exorbitant amount.

James Kyrkanides, the campaign manager for Senate candidate Wesley Hunt, charged taxpayers more than $44,000 in hotel expenses over three years as Hunt’s congressional chief of staff. The charges average $457 per night, four times the national standard rate set by General Services Administration rate for many federal employees, according to a Blue Light News analysis of House expense records.

That total accrued over 97 nights during 49 different stays. For instance, on Jan. 3, 2025, when Congress was being sworn in, Kyrkanides expensed a one-night hotel bill of $805. For May 20 to 22, 2024, he submitted a hotel bill of $1,692. And for a stay starting Aug. 6, 2024, he expensed two nights for a total of $1,321.

The expense records do not require the hotels or the city in which they’re located to be listed, and Kyrakanides declined to name the hotels.

Kyrkanides said all of the expenses were reviewed and approved by the House finance office, which handles disbursements of member money. He said less than half of the money that was reimbursed went to him personally and the remainder covered travel expenses for other Hunt staffers. He declined to provide receipts to verify that claim.

Kyrkanides confirmed Washington was his primary workplace during that period of time. He said a number of the reimbursements were in Hunt’s hometown of Houston, where the GSA’s recommended federal lodging rate is $128 per night. Krykanides said expenses also included stays in Washington, San Diego and New York, which have had average GSA rates of $234, $205 and $277 over the last year, respectively. Krykanides said the hotel stays in those cities were expensed on behalf of Hunt staffers for work travel, including a district director conference in San Diego and communications staffers going to New York for Fox News interviews related to policy.

Kyrkanides also noted that costs of food, beverage and parking aren’t included in the GSA rates, but his reimbursements folded in those items. He said subtracting them brings his average nightly lodging costs, excluding taxes, to $269. He also pointed to GSA policy that allows federal employees to be reimbursed up to 300 percent of the recommended rate if no other rooms are available.

Asked for comment about the expenses, a Hunt spokesperson said in a statement: “All transactions in this office are approved by the chief administrative officer, made public, and carried out in accordance with the highest ethical guidelines.”

A spokesperson for the chief administrative officer which oversees House finance declined to comment.

House members are given broad discretion in how they use their office budget. But some members and committees abide by GSA hotel rates, which serve as a reference point for the federal government. Senate staffers have to limit their hotel expenses to $165 per night but can obtain waivers for additional reimbursement in line with GSA hotel rates.

Hunt is now in a fiercely contested Senate primary against Sen. John Cornyn and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and, according to a RealClearPolitics average of recent polls, is running in third place. Trump hasn’t weighed in with an endorsement and has no plans to endorse in the race.

When briefed about the expenses, Donald Sherman, the president and CEO of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, said the pattern of expenses appeared to be “excessive” and that instances like these show “there needs to be more robust independent oversight of Congress and how it spends taxpayer dollars.”

“The expenses themselves certainly suggest that there should be more scrutiny on Congressman Hunt and his staff about how they are spending taxpayer funds,” he said in an interview. “Costs aren’t getting real oversight. People [who approve such expenses] are simply checking boxes and giving deference to members.”

Congress

Sanders warns Democrats about spending too much time investigating Trump

Published

7 hours ago

November 8, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Sen. Bernie Sanders on Sunday applauded the Democrats’ midterm victories but warned the incoming majority against spending too much time investigating President Donald Trump.

In an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press,” the Vermont progressive said holding the Trump administration “accountable” is important — but addressing affordability must take priority.

“We cannot spend all of our time investigating Trump,” Sanders said. “We’ve got to stand up for working-class families, make a real difference in their lives.”

Democrats ran on a message of affordability ahead of the midterms, knocking the Trump administration for sky-high gas and grocery prices, the cost of living and rising healthcare costs. But they also vowed to investigate administration officials; incoming House Oversight Committee leader Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) on Sunday warned that Democrats could investigate everything from pardons Trump made earlier in his second term to Trump allies including Elon Musk and the president’s newly appointed chief of staff Stephen Miller.

Still, Sanders on Sunday said the election was about more than just Americans wanting to tackle the Trump administration’s “corruption and illegal, unconstitutional actions.”

“What I think this election was about, is the American people not only expressing disgust with Trump and his policies, but are demanding real change, no more tinkering around the edges,” said Sanders. “And what the American people are saying: Look, we are working long hours. We’re worried about our kids. We can’t afford healthcare. We can’t afford housing.”

But Sanders, who serves on the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), also told BLN’s “State of the Union” that he would be “open” to a proposal by Sen.-elect Annie Andrews (D-S.C.) to impeach Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

“At the very least, I think, he is the most dangerous secretary of the HHS in history and he needs to be held accountable,” said Sanders. “We’re going to bring him before the committee, that’s for sure, and ask him some tough questions that have not been asked of him previously.”

And though Sanders accused Trump of being “erratic,” he added that the president is “a good politician” that Democrats may be able to work with.

“I think, when Trump looks out in the world and he sees millions of people working for starvation wages, he might not be unsympathetic to raising the minimum wage to a living wage,” said Sanders. “He would love, I think, to take credit for doing what every other major country does: guaranteeing healthcare to all people.”

Congress

Rep. Robert Garcia: ‘The days of us not fighting back are over’

Published

8 hours ago

November 8, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

The top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee vowed Sunday to lead a series of probes into Trump administration officials, telling BLN’s “State of the Union” that Democratic leaders will no longer “take the high road.”

“When Republicans go low, what we’re not going to do anymore is just take that, take the high road and turn the other cheek,” said Rep. Robert Garcia. “The days of us not fighting back are over.”

Following his party’s decisive midterm wins, the California Democrat formally announced his bid to chair the Oversight Committee in a letter to colleagues Thursday.

The bid comes after Garcia warned members of the Trump administration and others to “lawyer up.” On Sunday, he added that even members of the president’s family — such as President Donald Trump’s son, Donald Trump, Jr., and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner — could “absolutely” be subjects of the committee’s investigations.

“They should be expected to answer questions,” Garcia said.

He also indicated that pardons Trump made earlier in his second term could be investigated, as well as donors helping finance the president’s White House ballroom; the operation into the removal of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro; the Iran war; and Trump allies including Elon Musk and the president’s newly appointed chief of staff Stephen Miller.

Attorney General Todd Blanche on Sunday accused Garcia and other Democratic leaders of “outright threats” and condemned the promised probes of “basically every member of the Cabinet,” including Miller.

“You have members of Congress who, after Tuesday, have done nothing but threaten everything that’s happening in this administration. That is not governing, that is not leading, that is not oversight,” Blanche said in an interview immediately preceding Garcia’s. “That’s actually a disappointment. And it’s sad.”

Blanche on Sunday appeared to indicate the Justice Department could investigate Democratic members at the behest of Trump, who has called Democratic leaders extortionists and, on multiple occasions, called for them to be jailed.

“What Todd Blanche is doing right now is a threat,” said Garcia. “He is threatening our committee. He’s trying to stop us from doing real oversight.”

Congress

Johnson’s meeting request

Published

2 days ago

November 6, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Sen. Ron Johnson is sending a letter Monday requesting a conference meeting to discuss the midterm results and a delay in the leadership election.

Johnson has gathered enough signatures to force the meeting under the Senate GOP’s rules and is proposing the gathering for 9 a.m. Tuesday.

“Tuesday’s result was a stunning defeat,” Johnson and his backers write in the letter to Conference Chair Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), a copy of which was obtained by POLITICO. “Holding leadership elections without engaging in a robust discussion and evaluation of how those running for leadership intend to lead would be political malpractice”

Republicans still expect their leadership election to be held Tuesday, where Majority Leader John Thune is so far unopposed to lead the party next year in the minority.