Georgia Democrat Senator Raphael Warnock‘s campaign funneled over $60,000 in donor campaign funds to pay for items listed as “childcare,” according to Federal Election Commission filings.
Senator Warnock’s campaign, Warnock for Georgia, diverted $61,959.40 from 2020 to 2022 to cover expenses related to “childcare.”
Of the 33 listed payments, only one of those was described as “childcare expenses (campaign-related),” and the remainder were listed as only “childcare.”
FEC rules surrounding Warnock’s actions are unclear. Childcare payments are allowed by the FEC but are typically used to pay for the care for a day trip or an overnight trip. It appears that Warnock is funding his childcare payments entirely through campaign funds.
The largest single payment — totaling over $11,000 — was made directly to Warnock himself and was described as “childcare reimbursement.” The others were simply described as “childcare.”
However, FEC regulations state that donor campaign funds cannot be used to pay for “any expense that would exist irrespective of their candidacy or duties as a federal officeholder.”
According to Daily Wire:
Warnock has previously faced criticism after a report revealed that his church owned a building in a low-income housing area, and had moved to evict a number of tenants during the pandemic over back rent amounts as low as $28.55.
“NEW: Records obtained by @FreeBeacon reveal Raphael Warnock’s church, which pays him a $7417 monthly housing allowance, secretly owns a low-income apartment building that tried to evict residents during the pandemic,” The Washington Free Beacon’s Andrew Kerr reported. “One for just $28.55 in late rent.”
Since early 2020, 12 eviction lawsuits have been filed against residents of Columbia Tower at MLK Village, which Warnock’s church owns 99% of.
The average rent owed by the residents clocked in at just $125 a month.
The building has received over $15 million in taxpayer funding.
— Andrew Kerr (@AndrewKerrNC) October 11, 2022
“Since early 2020, 12 eviction lawsuits have been filed against residents of Columbia Tower at MLK Village, which Raphael Warnock’s church owns 99% of,” Kerr continued. “The average rent owed by the residents clocked in at just $125 a month. The building has received over $15 million in taxpayer funding.”
Kerr also noted the irony that Warnock’s building would sue to evict tenants who couldn’t pay their back rent — even as Warnock, then a candidate, was arguing on social media for a moratorium on rent and mortgage payments due to the pandemic.
“Unemployment benefits have expired, rent is due today, and many Georgia families are at risk of eviction in the middle of a pandemic. My opponents are supposed to be serving the people in Washington, but they’re clearly only concerned with serving their own interests,” Warnock said in August of 2020.
Unemployment benefits have expired, rent is due today, and many Georgia families are at risk of eviction in the middle of a pandemic.
My opponents are supposed to be serving the people in Washington, but they’re clearly only concerned with serving their own interests
— Reverend Raphael Warnock (@ReverendWarnock) August 1, 2020
These Democrats spend their campaign funds on anything they want. And, why not, nothing happens to them!!