Two Texas congressmen face campaign finance investigations over private club fees

Two Republican lawmakers from Texas are under investigation for using funds to finance private club memberships.

U.S. Representatives Ronny Jackson (R-Amarillo) and Wesley Hunt (R-Houston) are under scrutiny by the House Ethics Committee, which announced separate investigations into the two congressmen in May. This week, more details about the allegations came to light.

“Jackson has spent $12,000 on membership at the Amarillo Club since 2020,” said Matthew Watkins, senior editor of news and politics at The Texas Tribune. “Hunt spent $74,000 at the Post Oak Hotel, which includes the (Oak Room Club), from April 2022 to January 2024. You really shouldn’t do that unless you’re using campaign spending only for campaigning – not for, you know, lifestyle spending.”

Hunt’s lawyers said in a letter to the Office of Congressional Ethics that club membership would be used exclusively for campaign events such as meetings with donors, supporters and advisers. A spokesman for Jackson also described the allegations against Jackson as “unfounded.”

“They both deny doing anything wrong, but they are under investigation,” Watkins said. “And exactly what the money was used for in these clubs is still under investigation.”

Listen to more stories from Texas politics this week in the audio player above.

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