{"id":2504976,"date":"2025-10-30T18:32:02","date_gmt":"2025-10-30T22:32:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/top-senate-aide-charged-taxpayers-44000-for-his-work-commute\/"},"modified":"2025-10-30T18:36:56","modified_gmt":"2025-10-30T22:36:56","slug":"top-senate-aide-charged-taxpayers-44000-for-his-work-commute","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/top-senate-aide-charged-taxpayers-44000-for-his-work-commute\/","title":{"rendered":"Top Senate aide charged taxpayers $44,000 for his work commute"},"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\">20<\/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%2Ftop-senate-aide-charged-taxpayers-44000-for-his-work-commute%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=2504976&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>Senator Roger Marshall&#8217;s (R-KS) chief of staff, Brent Robertson, charged taxpayers approximately $44,000 over two years for travel expenses between Washington, D.C., and his home in Lynchburg, Virginia. While Marshall&#8217;s office defended these expenses as compliant with Senate rules-citing Robertson&#8217;s designation of his home as a &#8220;remote duty station&#8221; that permits reimbursement for travel-critics argue that the payments largely covered what appeared to be regular commuting costs, which many view as an inappropriate use of public funds. Ethics experts claim that if Robertson&#8217;s primary office is in D.C., he shoudl not be receiving such extensive reimbursements for commuting. Robertson&#8217;s reimbursements also included travel to other destinations, with some trips overlapping with political or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-association-of-mature-american-citizens-has-quietly-become-a-conservative-powerhouse\/\" title=\"AMAC: A Rising Conservative Force\">lobbying events<\/a>, which further raised concerns about the appropriateness of these expenses. The controversy sparked calls for clearer Senate rules on telework and travel reimbursements to prevent potential misuse of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/white-house-releases-list-of-president-trumps-accomplishments-and-it-is-historic\/\" title=\"White House Releases List of President Trump\u2019s Accomplishments \u2013  And It Is Historic!\">taxpayer money<\/a>.  <\/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\">&lsquo;An exorbitant amount&rsquo;: Top GOP Senate aide charged taxpayers $44,000 for his commute<\/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\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2077176\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Sen. Roger Marshall&rsquo;s (R-KS) chief of staff, Brent Robertson, charged $44,000 to the public over the past two years to cover travel between D.C. and his home in Lynchburg, Virginia, <em>Politico <\/em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2025\/10\/29\/brent-robertson-senate-commute-00626468\">reported <\/a>on Wednesday.<\/p>\n<p>The <em>Washington Examiner <\/em>reached out to Marshall&rsquo;s office about those payments in June and ultimately decided against running a story on them after a spokesperson for the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/senate\/\">senator<\/a> claimed at the time that the expenses did not cover trips related to his normal work commute. That claim appears to be contradicted by new information revealed by <em>Politico<\/em>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/investigations\/3867194\/41k-wisconsin-voter-registration-dont-match-driver-id\/\">41K Wisconsin voter registrations don&#8217;t match driver, ID database<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/investigations\/3866791\/nathaniel-ellis-tpusa-colorado-antifa-attack\/\">TPUSA student leader attacked after antifa put out hit on &lsquo;Nazi activist&rsquo;<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/investigations\/3866857\/senate-probes-tax-exempt-status-gates-foundation-others\/\">Senate probes tax-exempt status of Gates Foundation and others, citing Washington Examiner reports<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>Critics think Marshall&rsquo;s application of Senate rules violated their intent and have suggested that, independent of technical definitions, Robertson appeared to be using public funds to subsidize his work travel to and from D.C., which could be characterized as a &ldquo;taxpayer-funded commute,&rdquo; as <em>Politico<\/em> described it.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;If the home of Marshall&rsquo;s chief of staff, Brian Robertson, is his &lsquo;remote duty station,&rsquo; Robertson should not be commuting hardly at all to Washington, D.C.,&rdquo; Public Citizen congressional ethics lobbyist Craig Holman told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. &ldquo;The remote duty designation identifies the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/prageru-why-are-utilities-so-expensive\/\" title=\"PragerU: Why Are Utilities So Expensive?\">remote location<\/a> as the primary office. Robertson is supposed to be doing telework. Communications between the primary office and DC should be via zoom, email or phone and only on rare occasion involve commuting to D.C. Given the large commuting budget for Robertson, his primary office certainly seems to be at the Capitol and not at home.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Marshall&rsquo;s office, naturally, sees things differently. In a statement to the <em>Washington Examiner, <\/em>Marshall spokeswoman Payton Fuller said that the <em>Politico <\/em>article &ldquo;was a bizarre hit piece and the headline bordered libel,&rdquo; referencing the outlet&rsquo;s use of the phrase &ldquo;taxpayer-funded commute&rdquo; in its title.<\/p>\n<p>Fuller told <em>Politico <\/em>that <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/119\/crec\/2025\/01\/03\/171\/1\/CREC-2025-01-03-pt1-PgS12-3.pdf\">Senate rules<\/a> permitted Marshall to designate a remote duty station for Robertson at his home address in Lynchburg, which would make it permissible for the chief of staff to expense his work trips into D.C. and back home to Virginia. <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Like the 20 or so other Senate Chiefs who live outside of DC, Brent is not at all unique in getting reimbursed for official work travel to and from Washington,&rdquo; Fuller said in a statement to the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;By subsidizing Robertson&rsquo;s regular commute from home to the office, Marshall appears to be violating the spirit, if not the fact, of Senate ethics rules,&rdquo; Holman continued. &ldquo;This is why Congress needs to further clarify the terms and conditions for remote work as provided in the pending Telework Reform Act of 2025.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;After a gang shooting struck his wife&rsquo;s vehicle outside their D.C. condo, Brent and his family made the decision last year to move to Virginia,&rdquo; Fuller told <em>Politico<\/em>. <\/p>\n<p>On top of the over $40,000 Robertson billed the public to cover his trips to and from Lynchburg, Robertson also had his travel from Lynchburg to destinations like <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/las-vegas\/\">Las Vegas<\/a>, Kansas, Ohio, and Missouri covered.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Reimbursement of $33,000 annually for commuting from home to work for a <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >senior congressional staffer &#038;mdash<\/a>; or anybody, for that matter &mdash; is an exorbitant amount,&rdquo; Holman told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> when contacted about the story in June. Holman was referring to Robertson&rsquo;s total travel reimbursement as of June, with subsequent disclosures having increased the total since then.<\/p>\n<p>One such increase included per diem payment of $10,000 for one trip to D.C. between Jan. 14 and Jan. 23, a date range aligning with the second inauguration of President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\">Donald Trump<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sen Roger Marshall, R-Kan., listens during a Senate committee on the President&rsquo;s FY&rsquo;24 budget proposal, Wednesday, March 15, 2023, on Capitol Hill in Washington.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>For some of Robertson&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/chuck-schumer-releases-video-that-features-him-alongside-bds-supporter\/\" title=\"Chuck Schumer Releases Video That Features Him Alongside BDS Supporter\">taxpayer-funded trips<\/a>, social media posts and campaign finance records provide a glimpse into what the public paid for.<\/p>\n<p>Tommy Andrews, a principal at the lobbying firm Squire Patton Boggs, <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/posts\/tommy-andrews-4b2159200_great-hosting-us-senator-roger-marshall-activity-7188331765738917888-Bnlz\/?trk=public_profile\">posted to LinkedIn<\/a> on April 22, 2024, to commemorate hosting Marshall and Robertson, alongside representatives from Kroger, at a professional baseball game in Cincinnati.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Senate expense reports show that Robertson received roughly $5,000 worth of travel and per diem reimbursements for a trip beginning on April 21, 2024, from Lynchburg to Cincinnati, then back to Lynchburg via Texas.<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/investigations\/3361698\/qatar-questioning-republican-senator-matches-talking-points-qatari-foreign-agents\/\"><strong>&lsquo;BIZARRE&rsquo; PRO-QATAR QUESTIONING FROM REPUBLICAN SENATOR MATCHES TALKING POINTS GIVEN TO HIM BY QATARI FOREIGN AGENTS<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Days after rubbing shoulders with lobbyists and corporate leaders at a ball game, Marshall&rsquo;s reelection campaign raked in thousands of dollars in contributions from seven Kroger executives, including $2,700 from the grocery chain&rsquo;s CEO, <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fec.gov\/data\/receipts\/?data_type=processed&amp;committee_id=C00576173&amp;contributor_employer=KROGER&amp;two_year_transaction_period=2024&amp;min_date=04%2F01%2F2024&amp;max_date=04%2F30%2F2024&amp;contributor_state=OH\">according<\/a> to campaign finance records. Other Cincinnati area business leaders also <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fec.gov\/data\/receipts\/?data_type=processed&amp;committee_id=C00576173&amp;two_year_transaction_period=2024&amp;min_date=04%2F01%2F2024&amp;max_date=04%2F30%2F2024&amp;contributor_state=OH\">cut checks<\/a> to Marshall&rsquo;s campaign shortly after the Ohio trip.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Holman told the <em>Washington Examiner <\/em>in June that Robertson&rsquo;s tens of thousands of dollars in reimbursements are &ldquo;not likely to be deemed acceptable upon official review.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/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>Top GOP aide billed taxpayers $44K for commute<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":894,"featured_media":2504977,"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\/09\/Roger-Marshall-wants-trump-assassination-probe-expanded.webp?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[32412,33117,66201,66202,66203],"class_list":["post-2504976","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-government-spending","tag-political-scandal","tag-senate-aide","tag-taxpayer-expense","tag-work-commute"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Roger-Marshall-wants-trump-assassination-probe-expanded.webp?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2504976","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\/894"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2504976"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2504976\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2504980,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2504976\/revisions\/2504980"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2504977"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2504976"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2504976"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2504976"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}