‘$1 billion disaster’: Here’s what FEC filings show about Harris campaign’s 3 month spending spree

Vice President Kamala Harris’ failed presidential campaign spent more than $1 billion in three months, highlighted by several expenditures that have drawn intense criticism, including spending on celebrity influencers, radical activist groups and private jets.

FEC filings show the Harris campaign made two $500,000 payments to Oprah Winfrey’s production company, first reported by the Washington Examiner, on Oct. 15, a month after Winfrey appeared with Harris at a town hall event and weeks before Oprah was on stage with Harris at a Philadelphia rally before election day.

Conservatives on social media widely criticized the move, accusing Harris of buying the famous endorsement that ultimately did not yield a victory.

“Unconscionable,” GOP Rep. Greg Murphy posted on X. “Oprah, a billionaire, sells her soul for a measly $1M.”

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Oprah Winfrey, left, raises Vice President Kamala Harris’ hand as she arrives onstage during a campaign rally on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia. (Getty Images)

“Wolf of Wall Street” Jordan Belfort told Fox News he was “shocked” when he heard about the campaign contribution and likened the campaign’s actions to “money laundering.”

Oprah pushed back on the criticism when confronted by TMZ, saying she was “paid nothing.”

A Harpo spokesperson acknowledged that Harpo Productions took money from the campaign but claimed it was for “production costs” and said, “Oprah Winfrey was at no point during the campaign paid a personal fee, nor did she receive a fee from Harpo.”

Giving money to prominent celebrities was a theme of the Harris campaign, which gave almost $4 million to Village Marketing Agency, a company that connects clients with social media influencers.

The long list of celebrities that joined Harris on the campaign trail included Beyoncé, Bon Jovi, Ricky Martin, Jennifer Lopez and Bruce Springsteen.

The Washington Examiner also reported that the Harris campaign spent over $12 million on digital media consultants and “spent six figures on building a set for Harris’s appearance on the popular Call Her Daddy podcast with host Alex Cooper.”

The campaign spent at least $15 million on “event production,” FEC records show, with many payments lining up with high profile events and concerts with celebrity attendees or performers.

“The truth is this is just an epic disaster, this is a $1 billion disaster,” Lindy Li, Harris surrogate and DNC National Finance Committee member, told “Fox & Friends Weekend” on Saturday.

The controversial spending habits of the campaign also included contributions to radical activist groups.

The Harris campaign cut multiple six-figure checks in September for left-leaning groups that have been vocal about defunding the police, reparations and are tied to radical activists who have supported notorious antisemite Louis Farrakhan, Fox News Digital previously reported.

The Black Voters Matter Fund, which received $150,000 from the Harris campaign on Sept. 19, has repeatedly called for defunding the police and has been vocal about pushing for reparations.

The Black Church PAC, which also received $150,000 from the Harris campaign in September, has multiple controversial religious leaders on its board and recent social media posts show it is partnering with a defund the police group to help with “Get out the vote” efforts in Georgia, Pennsylvania and North Carolina.

Despite running a campaign warning of the effects of climate change, which she has previously called an “existential threat”, Harris gave over $4 million to Advanced Aviation to fly on private jets, FEC filings show.

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Oprah Winfrey, right, hugs Vice President Kamala Harris during a campaign rally in Philadelphia on Nov. 4, 2024. (REUTERS/Rachel Wisniewski)

The campaign, according to FEC filings, also spent north of $56 million on payroll and payroll taxes in just three months.

Filings also show the campaign gave in excess of $100 million to various consulting and marketing firms, including Gambit Strategies LLC, DuPont Circle Strategies LLC, and Bully Pulpit Interactive LLC. 

The Harris-Walz campaign is reportedly $20 million in debt, having raised more than $1 billion and had $118 million in the bank as of Oct. 16, according to Politico reporter Christopher Cadelago. 

News of the campaign debt sparked a social media troll from President-elect Donald Trump, who suggested he could cover the $20 million.

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Supporters react as Vice President Kamala Harris concedes the election during a speech at Howard University on Nov. 6, 2024 in Washington, D.C. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

“I am very surprised that the Democrats, who fought a hard and valiant fight in the 2020 (sic) Presidential Election, raising a record amount of money, didn’t have lots of $’s left over,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth.

“Now they are being squeezed by vendors and others. Whatever we can do to help them during this difficult period, I would strongly recommend we, as a Party and for the sake of desperately needed UNITY, do,” Trump added.

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Vice President Kamala Harris delivers a concession speech after the 2024 presidential election on Wednesday, Nov. 6, on the campus of Howard University in Washington, D.C. (AP/Jacquelyn Martin)

“We have a lot of money left over in that our biggest asset in the campaign was ‘Earned Media,’ and that doesn’t cost very much. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

The Harris campaign did not respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.

Fox News Digital’s Michael Dorgan contributed to this report.