Yesterday The Daily Beast reported that Kyrsten Sinema has spent $210,000 of taxpayer money on private planes since 2020 – including $116,000 in 2023 alone, “a high sum on an expense most lawmakers rarely, if ever, make.” And the story *took flight* (sorry).
Round-up of coverage below. But first, we’ll note that this follows a series of additional spending and ethics scandals surrounding Sinema – including allegedly illegal campaign luxury spending, abuse of taxpayer-funded Senate staff, and alleged omissions in her legally required financial disclosure reports. Our FEC complaint from last year lays it all out (and the numbers have only grown since then):
- Over $35,000 for luxury hotel stays, including the Ritz Carlton
- Nearly $20,000 for wine and winery visits
- Trips to Paris, Barcelona, London, and to participate in athletic competitions
- Nearly $10,000 for fancy meals – including Michelin star restaurants
- $45,000 for chauffeur car service
Additional coverage below:
Arizona Republic: Sen. Kyrsten Sinema spent over $200K on 11 taxpayer-funded private flights since 2020
Ron Hansen
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema reportedly spent about $210,000 of her taxpayer-funded office budget on private flights, often for travel within Arizona.
The private travel for Sinema comes as she faces ethics complaints over her campaign’s spending practices, which have overlapped with marathons and foreign travel.
Change for Arizona 2024, a political action committee known as Replace Sinema, opposes Sinema and has endorsed Gallego. Last year, the PAC filed a complaint to the Federal Election Commission saying Sinema spent $70,000 over 12 months, beginning in 2021 on charter travel services.
Vanity Fair: Kyrsten Sinema Really, Really Likes Flying Private (When Taxpayers Are Footing the Bill): Report
Bess Levin
While choosing to spend taxpayer money—and a large chunk of it at that—on private flights is not illegal and does not break any code of ethics per se, it certainly is a choice. As the Daily Beast notes, “by comparison, Sinema’s home-state colleague, Senator Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), appears to have never used his Senate budget for privately chartered flights, even though he regularly travels to the same places in the state that Sinema does.” Sinema’s office did not respond to the Daily Beast’s questions about the senator’s use of private flights.
Arizona Republic: Sen. Kyrsten Sinema sends the strongest signal yet that she won’t seek reelection
Laurie Roberts
…More likely, Sinema will finish out her term, then cash in with Big Pharma or some private equity firm. Former senators, especially those who leave on their own terms, can pretty much write their own tickets to millionaire-land where jets are a dime a dozen.
So why not get started early?
The Daily Beast reports that Sinema has flown privately 11 times since 2020 on the taxpayers’ dime, including five times over the last year. That’s precisely 11 more times than Sen. Mark Kelly has done so.
Politico Playbook PM: SINEMA PARADISO
Bethany Irvine
Though Sen. KYRSTEN SINEMA (I-Ariz.) is known to prefer chartering private flights while traveling, The Daily Beast’s Sam Brodey reports this morning that the Arizonan has used a whopping $210,000 her taxpayer-funded office budget to fund her travel since 2020: “[Sinema] has booked at least 11 private plane trips since 2020, with five of them coming in 2023, when she spent $116,000 on chartered air travel. According to the reports, nearly all of the flights were charted for travel within Arizona.”
The New Republic: Kyrsten Sinema Stuck Taxpayers with a Massive Private Jet Tab
Ellie Quinlan Houghtaling
Washington Blade: Sinema spent more than $200k on private jet travel
Christopher Kane
The National Desk: Sen. Kyrsten Sinema spent $200K+ in taxpayer funds on private charter flights, report says
Ray Lewis
The Independent: Kyrsten Sinema has spent taxpayer cash on luxury airfare
Kelly Rissman
Political Wire: Kyrsten Sinema Flies Private on the Taxpayer’s Dime
Taegan Goddard
Raw Story: Kyrsten Sinema’s love of private jets is costing taxpayers a fortune: report
Sky Palma
Alternet: Kyrsten Sinema’s private flights are costing a fortune
Alex Henderson
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