Vulnerable Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin repaid a taxpayer-funded trip she took to New York City in November 2020 after being asked by the press about it.
The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported on Monday that Baldwin – who is running for a third Senate term in the battleground state of Wisconsin – repaid the $630 trip from Madison, Wisconsin, to the Big Apple to visit her partner, private wealth adviser Maria Brisbane.
The payment came, however, after the senator was asked about it by the outlet. Baldwin staffers told the Journal-Sentinel that the trip was erroneously marked as official travel.
DEM SENATOR TO FUNDRAISE WITH SUPPORTER OF SISTERS OF PERPETUAL INDULGENCE, CRITICAL RACE THEORY
Sen. Tammy Baldwin repaid a taxpayer-funded trip she took to New York City in November 2020 after being asked by the press about it. (Drew Angerer)
Baldwin’s office said the senator made the federal reimbursement “out of an abundance of caution,” without being asked. “Tammy Baldwin goes above and beyond to ensure her office is in compliance with ethics policies, including as it relates to her travel,” Baldwin spokesperson Andrew Mamo told the Journal-Sentinel.
A few weeks after the trip, Baldwin advised Wisconsinites to stay home for the holidays amid COVID.
National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) spokesperson Tate Mitchell told the outlet it “takes a special kind of arrogance to tell Wisconsin taxpayers not to see their loved ones for the holidays while you bill them for a vacation to see your girlfriend.”
“Tammy Baldwin should change her campaign slogan to ‘Do as I say, not as I do,’” he added.
Baldwin’s travel came amid the COVID-19 pandemic, when both New York City and Wisconsin were seeing surges of the virus. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
Baldwin’s travel came amid the COVID-19 pandemic when both New York City and Wisconsin were seeing surges of the virus.
Next year will prove to be a pivotal one in the Senate, with the slim Democrat majority at stake, as Baldwin runs for re-election on a blue ticket headlined by President Biden.
President Biden will headline the blue ticket in 2024, a pivotal year for the Senate given the slim Democrat majority. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Baldwin fielded some controversy in June for a “very intimate” fundraiser hosted by a left-wing politician who supports the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence and critical race theory (CRT), has a history of anti-police rhetoric, and believes “White supremacy” has a “stranglehold” on society.
Baldwin was celebrated at the San Francisco reception among hosts with a long record of left-wing activism, according to a flyer for the fundraiser. The event sought to collect individual contributions between $250 and $3,300 to support the Democratic senator.
Bay Area city council member Carolyn Wysinger, who co-hosted the event, backs several controversial groups. She recently slammed the Los Angeles Dodgers for uninviting the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, an anti-Catholic group of “queer and trans nuns,” to their June Pride night.
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“3-0 is what LA fans get for sitting back as the Dodgers banned the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence from their Pride Night to please religious zealots,” Wysinger wrote in a Facebook post. “Black Lesbian Jesus is not pleased, and until y’all do right by the gays a broom will be comin yalls way….”
Baldwin’s office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Fox News Digital’s Aubrie Spady and Joe Schoffstall contributed reporting.