Two House Democrats are reportedly making sure family members are financially stable while American citizens struggle to make ends meet in President Joe Biden’s (D) economy.
The news comes as Americans gear up to cast their votes in the fast-approaching midterm elections, per a Fox News article published Monday.
House Democrats Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) and House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-SC) have reportedly paid tens of thousands in campaign funds to relatives. Waters’ reelection campaign paid $16,000 to her daughter in several installments in recent months, the report said:
Karen Waters, who has been organizing slate-mailing operations to bolster her mother’s re-election since 2003, and her company, Progressive Connections, have received more than $1.2 million from Waters’ campaign over the past nearly two decades.
A Federal Election Commission (FEC) filing this week by Citizens for Waters shows that Karen Waters received a total of $16,000 from the committee this quarter for “slate mailer management fees.”
In 2021, Waters paid her daughter more than $74,000 in campaign funds, however, “Maxine Waters has faced accusations of nepotism before. In 2004, the Los Angeles Times reported she paid over $1 million to family members in the course of eight years,” according to Breitbart News.
Per FEC records, Clyburn’s reelection campaign paid over $7,000 for “office rent” a few months ago to a company which, according to records, Walter A. Reed, the spouse of Clyburn’s daughter, is the registered agent.
The Fox report also provided another example:
Clyburn’s grandson, Walter A.C. Reed, who is managing Clyburn’s re-election campaign, received five $3,500 payments between July and September, totaling $17,500, from Friends of Jim Clyburn. Reed also received a $500 “travel stipend” in August and a $223.87 payment for “vehicle repair” in September from the campaign. He has now received over $75,000 from the Clyburn campaign since last October.
Clyburn has reportedly paid relatives more than $200,000 in campaign money over the past few years and as one of the top Democrats in the Capitol “who held influence over President Joe Biden during his presidential election, has also appeared to get presidential favors granted for his family,” Breitbart News reported in April.
Meanwhile, Democrats were gaining on the Republicans’ lead in the battle for House control but a recent poll revealed a shift in momentum as the midterm elections loom.
According to a CBS News report Sunday, the Republicans’ lead stabilized at 224 seats while the Democrats held at 211, per the CBS News/YouGov polling analysis.
The reason was reportedly due to the struggling economy that has burdened citizens with concerns over their finances.