{"id":2398302,"date":"2025-02-03T14:40:01","date_gmt":"2025-02-03T19:40:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/kyrsten-sinemas-campaign-spent-thousands-on-travel-to-saudi-arabia-in-final-months-in-office-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2025-02-03T14:41:31","modified_gmt":"2025-02-03T19:41:31","slug":"kyrsten-sinemas-campaign-spent-thousands-on-travel-to-saudi-arabia-in-final-months-in-office-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/kyrsten-sinemas-campaign-spent-thousands-on-travel-to-saudi-arabia-in-final-months-in-office-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Kyrsten Sinema\u2019s campaign spent thousands on travel to Saudi Arabia in final months in office &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">36<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fkyrsten-sinemas-campaign-spent-thousands-on-travel-to-saudi-arabia-in-final-months-in-office-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2398302&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Kyrsten Sinema, the\u200d former\u2064 Democratic\u2063 senator who transitioned to \u2063an self-reliant,\u2064 spent\u2063 significant\u200b amounts on travel and events in the final months of her Senate \u2062career. According to campaign\u200d finance \u2063reports,\u2062 her\u2062 campaign allocated over $26,000 for overseas expenses, primarily for a trip\u200d to \u200ba luxurious hotel in \u2063Riyadh, Saudi Arabia,\u2064 which <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-weighs-executive-action-to-end-border-crisis-despite-previous-claims-he-had-no-such-authority\/\" title=\"Biden considers executive action to resolve border crisis, contradicting previous claims of lacking authority\">raises questions due<\/a> \u2064to her previous \u2062criticisms of the saudi government, notably regarding the assassination of\u2062 journalist Jamal \u2063Khashoggi.<\/p>\n<p>In her last quarter\u2063 in office,\u200c Sinema&#8217;s campaign expenditures included $144,000 on luxury\u2062 travel, with significant \u2063spending at high-end\u200c hotels in locations like Las Vegas, San Francisco,\u200c and Wyoming. \u2062Additionally, she \u2063spent over $241,000 on security and\u2062 $83,000 on events.\u200d Notably, \u200dher campaign purchased gifts \u2063from the Senate gift shop and Taylor Swift&#8217;s merchandise, totaling over $3,000.<\/p>\n<p>Despite these\u200c expenses, Sinema&#8217;s campaign finished 2024 with\u2063 nearly \u2062$4.3 million in cash. Her spending habits have led to scrutiny, including a\u200c complaint from the group Citizens for Responsibility \u200dand Ethics for\u2062 undisclosed travel. Following\u2064 her departure\u200c from the Senate,Sinema has moved into the private sector,joining the Global\u200b Advisory Council of the cryptocurrency\u200d exchange Coinbase. Her Senate\u200d seat\u2062 was\u200b afterward filled \u2062by Senator Ruben Gallego.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Kyrsten Sinema&rsquo;s campaign spent thousands on travel to Saudi Arabia in final months in office<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1960560\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Former Sen. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/kyrsten-sinema\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Kyrsten Sinema<\/a>&lsquo;s defunct campaign spent thousands of dollars on security, travel, and Taylor Swift merchandise in her final months in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/senate\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Senate<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>The one-term Democrat-turned-independent senator spent her final months in office hosting undisclosed events and even traveling overseas to Saudi Arabia, according to the latest <a href=\"https:\/\/docquery.fec.gov\/cgi-bin\/forms\/C00508804\/1870565\/sb\/ALL\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/60-minutes-edits-exchange-with-fla-gov-desantis-reporter\/\" title=\"\u201960 Minutes\u2019 edits exchange with Fla. Gov. DeSantis, reporter\">campaign finance report<\/a><\/a>. She did not run for reelection in the 2024 election, but reelection records show she has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign cash between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31, 2024.<\/p>\n<p>Her campaign committee spent at least $26,000 on overseas expenses, most of which were for a trip to a five-star hotel in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n<p>The report did not detail why she went on the trip. <span style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;\">Sinema, at one point, was critical of Saudi Arabia, condemning its government assassination of&nbsp;<em>Washington Post<\/em>&nbsp;journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey in 2018 just before she was elected to the Senate.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I would encourage the Senate and the House to make sure that we&rsquo;re holding Saudi Arabia accountable,&rdquo; Sinnema told Arizona&rsquo;s Family 3TV at the time.<\/p>\n<p>The trip to Saudi Arabia marks a string of domestic and international travel Sinema has embarked on since retiring from her political career. In the final three months of the year, Sinema spent $144,000 on luxury travel.<\/p>\n<p>She spent hundreds of dollars at the Cosmopolitan Hotel in Las Vegas and nearly $2,000 at the St. Regis San Francisco. Sinema&rsquo;s campaign spent more than $10,000 at a New York hotel. In Jackson Hole, Wyoming, she spent more than $700 at the Four Seasons Resort and more than $2,000 at the five-star Amangani Hotel.<\/p>\n<p>During one of her final days in office, she spent $1,482 at the Senate gift shop for &ldquo;donor appreciation gifts.&rdquo; Sinema also spent $1,610.75 on &ldquo;event gifts&rdquo; at &ldquo;The Official Store of Taylor Swift.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The Sinema campaign covered $241,000 in security-related expenses in the final three months of the year. It additionally spent $83,000 on events and meetings, $177,000 on <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">unitemized credit card bills<\/a>, and $70,000 on fundraising expenses in the quarter, according to an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.azcentral.com\/story\/news\/politics\/arizona\/2025\/02\/03\/kyrsten-sinemas-campaign-spending-complaints\/78147820007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">analysis<\/a> from the <em>Arizona Republic<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Her campaign committee didn&rsquo;t take in any extra money in the final report of the year, but it still finished 2024 with nearly $4.3 million in cash. Sinema retains discretion over that money.<\/p>\n<p>Sinema&rsquo;s spending habits have caught the eye of ethics boards, with the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, D.C., filing a complaint against her in December for travel she did not disclose in October.<\/p>\n<p>Her campaign finance report from the previous quarter also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/3191225\/sinema-campaign-spends-thousands-travel-not-running-reelection\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">showed thousands of dollars spent on travel<\/a>. Between July 1 and Sept. 30, 2024, her campaign spent $216,000 on travel, including $71,000 on hotels in California and Arizona, as well as hotels abroad in England, France, and Japan.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\"><strong><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>After leaving office, Sinema moved to the private sector and joined crypto exchange Coinbase&rsquo;s Global Advisory Council. Chris LaCivita, President Donald Trump&rsquo;s 2024 campaign manager, also joined the council there. <\/p>\n<p>Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) took over Sinema&rsquo;s Senate seat in January.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1960560\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1960560\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Kyrsten Sinema&#8217;s campaign spent thousands on travel to Saudi Arabia before leaving office<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2910,"featured_media":2398303,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Kyrsten-Sinema-hh12.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[43137,49730,32603,34933,43138],"class_list":["post-2398302","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-campaign-spending","tag-kyrsten-sinema","tag-political-news","tag-saudi-arabia","tag-travel-expenses"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Kyrsten-Sinema-hh12.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2398302","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2910"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2398302"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2398302\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2398306,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2398302\/revisions\/2398306"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2398303"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2398302"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2398302"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2398302"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}